“I am an agent working exclusively in the downtown Los Angeles market. Although hard to believe, there was no residential market in downtown LA until four years ago when the city realized the value of empty office buildings and the demanding housing market.
Many developers snapped up these vacant buildings and converted them to live/work lofts. It’s an exciting market to serve and I’m thrilled to be a part of it. And initially, there were just a handful of agents working in the downtown market. Four years later, there are literally hundreds of ‘one time hitters’ and about 30 consistent agents.
When the market turned, the consistent agents (all of whom are known to each other and had been promoting each others properties) formed an association to market and brand our expertise.
It’s a truly remarkable accomplishment as we all work for different agencies and are essentially, competitors. We meet once a month for breakfast, usually have a guest speaker and discuss marketing options – not as individuals but rather as a group.
Since our inception, we have developed relationships with developers who otherwise would prefer not to do co-op brokering. By banding together, we have become a distinct group that is able to leverage our ability to bring buyers to the developer projects.”
