Editorial
Front Page - Monday, September 21, 2009
Down market? Not a problem for Abernathy
Ethan C. Nobles
Special to the Daily Record ethan@att.net
Conventional logic might suggest that starting a real estate career in the past three years was a bad move.
Melinda Abernathy – a Realtor with Crye-Leike’s Benton Branch – disagrees with that notion. She started her real estate career three years ago and has closed over $2.2 million in transactions this year.
What’s more, she hasn’t had the advantage of local connections that a lot of Realtors say are very important. Abernathy and her husband, John, moved to Bryant just about three years ago from Malvern.
How has she built up her business? Abernathy said it all comes down to hard work and customer service.
“It’s my goal for them to feel like they’re my only client,” she said of how customer service has helped her grow her business. “That’s my goal.”
Solid customer service, she said, leads to repeat business and referrals. Also, the ability to utilize the Internet to find leads has helped Abernathy find clients.
Her Internet site – melindaabernathy.crye-leike.com – has brought in a lot of business. She said the Internet is just another marketing tool that can be very valuable if utilized well, but it isn’t a substitute for the referrals and repeat business that result from good customer service.
Abernathy was a first grade school teacher in Malvern prior to moving to Bryant and starting her real estate career. The question, then, is what would motivate her to leave a teaching career and jump into the real estate business?
She said teaching is actually a good background for a real estate agent to have.
“I still teach. I just teach in a different classroom now,” Abernathy said. “I teach adults the process of buying or selling a house.”
Abernathy said she wanted to control her income and have some flexibility to take care of her three children – 10-year-old Landon, 8-year-old Sean and 7-year-old Blake.
“I can work as much or as little as I want to,” she said.
Still, Abernathy said she has been hard at work this year as she has – fortunately – been busy dealing with helping people buy and sell homes.
“I think it’s a great time right now,” she said. “This is the perfect time to buy.”
She said the first-time homebuyer tax credit is helping bring people to the market, but that’s not the only thing. Interest rates are low, there are a lot of homes from which to choose and there is downward pressure on prices.
Also, Saline County is an appealing place to live.
“You’ve got that hometown feel, but you’re so close to ‘more action, bigger city’ (in Little Rock) that you don’t feel like you have to drive far to get that,” Abernathy said.
Also, she said real estate prices in Saline County tend to be lower than those in Pulaski County and the chambers of commerce in Benton and Bryant have done well at promoting the cities and presenting them in a positive light. Also, retail outlets and restaurants have increased as of late, meaning that people living in Saline County don’t feel it necessary to go to Little Rock to shop and have dinner.
Abernathy said one advantage she has is the Crye-Leike outfit she decided to work at when starting her real estate career.
“They’re the largest in Saline County,” she said. “They’ve got great marketing tools and a wonderful commission split.”
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