New northside real estate company succeeding despite bleak economy

Nineteen months ago, as the local real estate market tightened and a national financial crisis was developing, broker Freddy Spencer decided to open a real estate company in the Liberty Square development on Clark Lane.

This summer, Century21 Advantage ranked first in volume of business out of about 400 Century21 offices in the real estate company’s eight-state Heartland Region.

Spencer said he believes the company’s ability to thrive in a bleak economy comes down to his agents, who he said work harder and serve clients better than the competition.

“I’ve got some new, young real estate agents that don’t know any better, they didn’t learn any of the bad habits from the boom times a few years ago,” Spencer said. “Here’s the fact: If you turn over enough rocks, you can continue to stay busy in any economy.

“What sets us apart is that we develop, and we build, and we give our listings away to our agents.  We give developments away to our agents,” he said. “We actually help our agents be a success.”

Many established agents are not reacting to change in the marketplace, he said.  For instance, when another realtor wants to show a home listed with Century 21 to a buyer, Spencer’s agents will attend showings to help sell the house to take advantage of the seller’s agent’s greater knowledge of what a particular home offers.

“Four years ago, when real estate was booming, you could put a sign in the front yard, you could go to Home Depot and get a flyer box, you could go back to your computer and type up a nice little flyer, you could put it in the MLS, and it would sell.  There was no salesman needed.  This market needs salesmen.”

Ken Terry, owner of World of Service, a remodeling and property management company, said Century21 Advantage has stuck with potential buyers long after he would have let them go. “They’re very thorough in what they do,” he said.  “They go above and beyond when trying to get a deal to go through.”

J.R. Cochran, finance manager at University Chrysler, said his Century21 Advantage realtor went “above and beyond” for him as well.  “Anytime something came up, he was always on it,” he said. “They really looked out for the best interest of myself and my family.”

Mike and Jane Bittick, buyers from Festus, wanted to buy a home for her children while they were in college in Columbia.  Jane Bittick said her realtor stuck with her for 15 months of looking at one place and another.  “They worked with us and accommodated us all the way through,” she said.  “We told the realtor what we wanted, and she was pretty keen as to what we were actually looking for.”

The old realtor’s saw about the three most important things in selling a house are location, location, and location also applies to his office.  He chose the location near U.S. Highway 63 and Interstate 70 because it was different; everybody else was located in south Columbia.  “We could have gone south too, but we wanted a location that was convenient to everywhere,” Spencer said.

As for the future of the market?  “It will cycle back,” Spencer said.  “People still have to buy houses; people still have to rent houses.  We will continue to grow.”