Realty Edge: Real Estate in a Connected World

Anyone who has lived through the past decade knows how much the world has changed, and the Real Estate industry has changed along with it. Agents have cell phones, laptops, and the Internet to facilitate their business, but the core of the business model has remained basically unchanged for many years. Sales agents sign on with a national chain, or an independent office and must work under the constraints of that corporation. A new independent real estate office has opened in town that promises to turn the old paradigm on its head. Ann Edwards and Connie Gerbush became friends many years ago when Connie joined Ann’s sales team at an old style real estate office. At the time computers, fax machines, and cell phones didn’t exist, and the business was well, primitive. “Real estate has changed completely since we entered the business” Ann tells me. “We’re living in a very different world now.” The connectivity allowed by smart phones, and the Internet means that agents don’t have to be anchored to a home office, but can run their entire business out of their home office or even their car. To take advantage of this new world Ann and Connie combined the first two letters of their last names to create the word edge, and thus created Realty Edge. The two women devised a completely different business plan for a realty company. One that gives the sales agent complete freedom to manage their own business. “We saw the need for a new business model centered on the agents,” Ann says. All their agents are independent contractors, and are given total control over the marketing, management, and, and even the final sale of their properties. It’s a model the agents seem to like. “We’re treated like adults,” says Margie Kandefer, who recently joined the team as an agent. “It’s like a breath of fresh air.” says Beverly Spress, another agent. “it’s a model designed to put more wind under our wings, and gives us a stronger incentive to sell,” adds Margie. Ann points out they have eliminated many of the costs (such as franchise fees) of running a real estate business. The office has no secretary or assistants, and the agents are asked to do more for themselves. But, this has some advantages, agents retain more of their commission, and don’t have to wait three days for changes on listings or check with a boss about an idea they may have. Connie adds to this by saying, “we want our agents to be entrepreneurial.” While Ann and Connie have different personalities and different skill sets, Connie is more of a finance person, while Ann holds the vision for the company. The connection between the two is obvious, as they often finish each others sentences. But, both insist they have same goals; creating a company with positive energy, and allowing their agents to grow to the best of their abilities. It seems to be working as they have opened offices in Amherst, Buffalo, Orchard Park, and now Ellicottville. “We’re in expansion mode,” says Ann. To keep costs low in most cases their offices are basic conference rooms; agents use them primarily to meet with clients. But, realizing that our town has more walk in traffic than other locations, they changed their office design a bit for Ellicottville. Here, to make clients comfortable, they established more of a business feel with desks, and art on the walls. This flexibility seems to be the key to their success, as Ann says, “we’re a forward looking company.”