REALTORS SEE DECLINE IN BUSINESS— Local realtor, Janet Griffin, discussed how she and other local realtors at Coldwell Banker Tennessee Valley Realty have seen a decline in business due to the current recession.Borden/real estate
Local realtor, Janet Griffin, talked about how she first started out with a lot of business and would walk into a real estate office filled with noise due to phones ringing off the hook for business, but now she comes to work, and the office is a quiet deserted office filled with realtors longing for new customers. By Kalon Borden
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MUSCLE SHOALS — Local realtor, Janet Griffin, threw her hands up in frustration as she discussed how the recession has contributed to the lack of business she has been getting.
A silent Coldwell Banker Tennessee Valley Realty real estate office with no customers and no phones ringing was the first thing that Griffin pointed out when first asked about the decline in business.
Griffin, who has been a realtor for six years, was in shock by how just a couple of years earlier, she could not stop her cell phone from ringing due to customers looking for houses. “The lack of business came out of nowhere,” said Griffin.
Griffin described how when she first started working for Coldwell Banker Tennessee Valley Realty (which used to just be called Coldwell Banker) there were customers left and right. Even though not every customer bought a house or a piece of land, Griffin enjoyed talking to the customers and getting to know them. “Now I hardly get any phone calls, and when I do get one, I get my hopes up thinking it might be a customer, but it turns out to be something else,” said Griffin.
When asked why Griffin thought there has been a decline in business, Griffin without hesitation, blamed the recession. “When I do get calls from potential customers, and they back out of buying a house, they mostly say the reason for this is because either they cannot afford a new home, or they are afraid that the banks will take advantage of them,” said Griffin.
Griffin has taken extra measures to try and get more business. “I have done everything from baking cookies and providing drinks at open houses, to going door to door introducing myself as a realtor and that I would really appreciate their business,” said Griffin.
When asked whether or not anything can be done to fix this problem with the economy, Griffin replied: “Honestly, I don’t think anything can be done; I mean, if customers are scared of the banks taking advantage of them when applying for a loan, there is only so much us realtors can do except to try and explain to them tools to keep them from being taken advantage of, but they do not find that as encouraging as us (realtors) do.”
Griffin went on to explain that Coldwell Banker Tennessee Valley Realty is not the only real estate company that is experiencing problems. “I have many close friends at other real estate companies that are experiencing the same problems that Coldwell Banker Tennessee Valley Realty and I are experiencing. Some of my friends have worked in the real estate business way longer than I have, and it is truly heart breaking to see my friends struggling due to the recession,” said Griffin.
When asked if there have been any signs that things will get better, Griffin just shrugged and said: “All I can hope for is the best. I have a good family and husband that can provide for our family while business is down, but for my friends’ and business’s sake, I sure hope this recession ends soon.”
Kalon Borden is a secondary education/English major at UNA.
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