Real Estate Brokers Embrace Smaller, Fewer Offices

(Boonton, NJ, April 1, 2009) — During the good old days of the boom, Carolina One Real Estate was opening offices as fast as possible with the thought of providing spacious digs for agents.

"Back in 2005, we really couldn't keep up with the market," says Patty Scarafile, the company's chief executive officer. "In hindsight, thank God we couldn't keep up with the market."

Since the boom turned to bust, Carolina One has closed five of its 15 offices in the Charleston, SC, area. And, according to an article in industry newsletter Real Estate Broker's Insider, it's fitting more agents into the space it has left.

Scarafile once put about 75 agents in a typical 7,500-sq. ft. office, a ratio of one agent per 100 square feet. Now, she's aiming to squeeze 125 agents in the same space, a ratio of one agent per 60 square feet.

"Five or 10 years ago, we operated on bricks and mortar," she says. "The world is changing."

Scarafile isn't the only broker who's spending less on bricks and mortar. This smaller-is-better trend is taking hold throughout the country as profit margins shrink and as the habits of agents and consumers change.

RE/MAX Dolphin in San Mateo, CA, is another broker that has aggressively cut its real estate costs. That company has gone from 12 offices to only one office, Allan Bernardi, broker and chief executive officer, tells Real Estate Broker's Insider.

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