what it takes to be an ELITE agent:

look forward and figure out how to problem-solve so that we can successfully get to the finish line,” Allen explains.

Details matter. Allen requires a completed seller’s disclosure, or at the very least a completed draft, prior to listing. “As agents, we need to know in the beginning if there is a history of something. I don’t want to be telling a buyer this when I’m in escrow, because then they will want credit. I want to know ahead of time, so I can bring it up in the course of a showing that ‘yes, this happened in the past’ and this is how it was remedied. If the seller fails to give a primarily completed disclosure before a home is listed, it puts the agent at a disadvantage because we lack that knowledge. Then, it hurts the seller in the long run. Another thing I am strict about is having surveys done.”

Elite agents’ forte is marketing and the ability to evaluate a particular property and create a customized strategy to reach the broadest audience. Video, social media, and brochures are only part of what marketing implies today. For example, in addition to print ads and a weekly podcast on YouTube, Eugenia Foxworth with Foxworth Realty in New York employs 3D tours exclusively as well as videos done by professionals, which she narrates.

In San Miguel Allende, Mexico, Greg Gunter with Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Colonial Homes extensively uses videos and visuals to educate buyers new to the country. “When you’re buying a home in another country, you want to know what you’re getting into,” he says. To familiarize newcomers, he has a page and a video on his website for the 13 neighborhoods most popular with expats. “I always want to ensure clients are pre-prepared to make an investment when they finally get down here.”

Currently, says Hurwitz, “there has been a tremendous increase in the number of international buyers in the luxury marketplace, most markedly, from China and Canada.” Global buyers also are making a comeback in Florida and other markets, which will only create additional challenges for agents not attuned to this market.