[August 19, 2011] She can sell a house, in good times and bad Tweet Aug 19, 2011 (The Charlotte Observer - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- Diane Honeycutt sells houses. Lots of houses. In this economy, when Charlotte-area sales have fallen to less than half their peak levels, that seems amazing. Even more amazing, she says with a laugh, is that she works with her mother. "We've worked together for 23 years and haven't killed each other. That has to be good!" That attitude -- and humor -- serve her well. Her profession has been battered. At the peak of the real estate boom the regional Realtor association boasted nearly 9,600 members. Now, there are only about 6,600. But Honeycutt has persevered. How'd she do it and what does she see for the market? She still follows the classic real estate business model, she said: Get involved in the community, and build your customer base one client at a time. She added some skills -- she never thought she'd become a certified distressed property expert, or be utilizing videos. "We don't specialize," she said. "That's one of the things that allows us to be successful." How successful? Among Allen Tate's 1,400 agents, Honeycutt and her team regularly rank in the top five for the number of homes sold. The heart of the market Diane Honeycutt sort of backed into the business. Her grandfather and father built homes. Her mother, Betty Honeycutt, sold them. When Betty decided to take a real estate class and become a licensed agent, she talked Diane into coming along. "She was terrible with math," Diane Honeycutt said. "She told me, 'Go with me and help me with the math.' " They both mastered the arithmetic. And Diane joined her mom in the business a few years later. They joined Tate in 2003. They work with a team, although it's down to eight members from 12. While some agents focus on high-end homes and cultivate wealthy clients, Honeycutt says her team sells mostly in the heart of the market. "One (team) agent last year sold a $15,000 home on a credit card," she said. "I'm getting ready to close on a $1 million-dollar home ... But those are exceptions." They work from the Concord office, and their average sale is $200,000 or a little more. The average price for all homes sold through the regional MLS in July was $213,354. Three agents work with buyers. One staffer handles closings, another handles all the paperwork that comes with listings, and another serves as office manager. Diane and Betty concentrate on listings. Call it "prospecting," call it "farming," that means contacting someone who might need real estate services, or who might know someone who needs those services. Most business -- 60 to 70 percent, Honeycutt estimates -- comes from referrals and from past clients. John Byers, a past president of the regional Realtors and past officer in the state association, said the model is still sound -- and Honeycutt's success demonstrates that. Making calls to past clients and potential customers is difficult, he said, especially in this market. Lots of agents don't like doing it. "But, as we like to say, 'That's not part of the business -- that is the business,' " Byers said. Betty Honeycutt puts it this way: "When business is bad, you need to be doing more calling. Also, when business is good." The Honeycutt team has sold 1,200 homes since 2005, Diane Honeycutt said. Last year, sales were up 30 percent over 2009; this year so far hasn't been quite as good as last year. Both of those she attributes to the tax credit, now discontinued. And she's seeing things she could never have imagined in her first 20 years in the business. She's watching young families empty their bank accounts, or even borrow money from relatives, to sell their homes. When sellers don't have enough equity they have to bring cash to the closing. "It is very difficult," she said slowly, pausing between sentences. "I will tell you ... It is very difficult." Sellers, even after all the headlines and all the economic battering, still have trouble getting their heads around new realities. When she explains, she said, some still replay, "Yeah, but I need..." She has to tell them, "The banks and buyers don't care what you need." Housing's future What does the future of real estate look like to Diane Honeycutt? Appraisals are a problem, but she doesn't blame appraisers. "They face the same issue we have: A lack of ... good data." It's ironic: The Internet makes home sales information instantly available, and new software can slice and dice it in ways the pros couldn't have imagined just a few years ago. But because there are so few sales, there's too little information. But she thinks appraisal issues will ease as the market stabilizes. The Internet has revolutionized real estate sales. An estimated 90 percent of home sales and purchases begin online, according to one survey. Just this week, Honeycutt spent two days in class to learn to make the most of social media. The big lessons, she said, are about how to turn digital contact into face-to-face relationships. When will the market pull out of its nosedive? That's tougher. Sales seemed to have quit falling, she said. Prices, maybe not. "I read a lot, and I listen a lot... If we have hit bottom, that would be a bright spot for us." [email protected] To see more of The Charlotte Observer, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.charlotteobserver.com. Copyright (c) 2011, The Charlotte Observer, N.C. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For more information about the content services offered by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services (MCT), visit www.mctinfoservices.com. [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]