August Perspective

The real estate industry has seen a big transition in recent years. During the peak of the housing boom, a house could go from being for sale to sold in a matter of hours. Today is quite a different story; once an offer is accepted, the process can be tedious and lengthy, especially when properties are bank owned or subject to a short sale.

As a result, the real estate profession has thinned out. When the market shifted, those who thought being a real estate agent was the path to easy money quickly realized how much work is really involved and left for greener pastures. We’re back to a place where success in real estate is all about having a good-old-fashioned work ethic, as it should be. But what does the term “work ethic” mean in this age of flexible work schedules, telecommuting, and home offices? Furthermore, how is a strong work ethic perceived through the eyes of younger generations?

Work ethic has been defined as a “belief in the moral benefit and importance of work and its inherent ability to strengthen character.” For many of us, a strong work ethic was instilled from an early age. If you were a part of our family, you washed cars, swept sidewalks, watered plants, and answered phones before being given any serious responsibilities. We had to work for it the old-fashioned way. The same holds true for the next generation of our family, many of whom are repeating the same tasks we were forced to do as kids.

So, we would argue that while younger generations and advances in technology have had a huge impact on how, where, and when we work, a commitment to strong ethics and hard work should never waver. Case in point: real estate agents have never really adhered to the traditional 9-to-5 workplace model, yet they’re some of the hardest working people we know.  And in this culture of competition and instant everything, we are constantly amazed and thankful for the work ethic that Windermere agents demonstrate every day.

While others continue to struggle to get their footing in this new market, we’re proud to say that we have a team of professionals who are showing more excitement and vigor than we’ve seen in a long time. They’re eager to help their clients and enhance their service through whatever means possible. In other words, instead of letting the ups, downs, and unknowns of real estate drag us down, the feeling around here is that we’re just getting warmed up. And that’s a work ethic we can get behind.