Each month we interview ONE of our members to discover their story and have them share their experience with us.
Under the spotlight this month is Dean Harper from One Agency Launceston in Tasmania. Dean has been in real estate since 2002 and he joined One Agency with his father, Peter Harper in July 2011.
What do you love about your work in real estate? What drives you?
I love waking up each day and not knowing exactly how it’s going to turn out! I love the thrill of the chase. A lot of our work is following up with both vendors and buyers. Creating a sale after following up with a buyer and leading them towards a purchase is so rewarding, because you’ve helped them to end up with a home they love.
Becoming the best agent and having the best agency in my area is what motivates me. I want our little boutique office to be a real challenger to the other companies in our city, and that’s what really drives me. Competition!
What attracted you to the One Agency business model?
I loved the brand. I loved the fact that we keep 100% of our fees. I love the support we give each other and being surrounded by other agents who are doing the same thing as me, running their own business!
How is the brand working for you?
Excellent! It totally backs up what we stand for, quality, simplicity and service.
Would you recommend One Agency to others?
Definitely! If you are sick of giving away a large slice of your hard earned commission to a brand that does nothing for you, then One Agency is definitely for you. It is so rewarding to put a deal together and then retain 100% of your fees.
What do you think keeps your prospective vendors awake at night when they are considering listing their property?
Will they get the price they want and how much are they going to have to pay an agent. I think people worry about the state of the market and if it’s a good time to sell or not. They sometimes think that if they wait the market will get better but they mightwait anywhere from 2-5 years before things pick up. At the end of the day if you are buying and selling in the same market it all balances out. If you have to take less for your home, then the home that you are buying will come down in price also, same as in a booming market – if you get more you will pay more too!
If you are sick of giving away a large slice of your hard earned commission to a brand that does nothing for you, then One Agency is definitely for you. It is so rewarding to put a deal together and then retain 100% of your fees.
Do you think they worry that they can’t trust real estate agents in general?
Definitely. We are way down the list of trusted professions. Everyone knows someone who has a bad real estate story to tell. But there are some great agents out there, really good, hard working honest people. A lot of them are in One Agency!
What do you do to build their trust?
Always do what you say you are going to do when you say you are going to do it. Nothing loses trust more than failing to deliver on a promise. Under promise and over deliver and you can’t go wrong. Many agents over promise on the outcome to get the listing and then everyone loses out.
What makes you the ‘go to’ agent in your local area? What sets you apart?
Being a specialist in my local area. We’ve invested a lot of time and money into our local ‘farming’ areas, letter dropping every week, writing and updating market reports, newsletters and competitions. We’ve also been in the real estate game for a while now so repeat and referral business keeps things ticking along nicely. I think social media has also helped us greatly also as we have a strong following on Facebook.
Like One Agency Launceston on Facebook.
What attributes do you think are most important in an agent?
Firstly you need to be a people person and like dealing with people. You need to be a good negotiator, an expert marketer and a brilliant communicator!
How’s the current state of the market? What do you predict for 2013?
I see the market in 2013 as pretty much the same as the last couple of years – tough! Our market here in Tasmania has been hit pretty hard with prices coming back quite a fair bit. I don’t think we have reached the bottom just yet but probably not far away from it. This doesn’t really concern me as any agent can survive in a booming market, but when things tighten up some people get out of the industry. So it kind of cleans out the not so good agents. It is more important now than ever to hit the market with the correct pricing, excellent marketing and really good presentation.
What’s great about living in your local area and community?
Our area here in Launceston is a regional city and is very much a working class city. I love the people here and living in an area where you can be pretty much anywhere within 15-20 minutes! The weather here at this time of year (Summer) is beautiful too.
What interests do you have outside the office?
Outside of work, which is pretty much one day a week for me (Sundays) I love to spend with my family – I have a little boy who is nearly 2 and on Sundays my wife and I will often take him for breakfast, head to the park and just chill. I also love to go running to relax and keep fit. Travelling is also top of the list. We are off to Italy in March for my 30th birthday. We travelled around the world in 2007/08 and Italy was our favourite spot and so in March we plan to spend a lot more time exploring!
Contact Dean Harper
T 03 6331 0950
E deanh@oneagencygroup.com.au
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