Ocean City's Steve Booth says technology changing the real estate industry
Technology the biggest change for OC real estate, says Steve Booth.
Booth is the manager of Prudential, Fox and Roach's 34th Street office.
When Steve Booth started selling real estate years ago, he would arrive at work on a Sunday morning and find people waiting for the office to open. Before long, there would be lines of people waiting for a free agent, print-outs and keys to begin the arduous search for a summer rental.
"We spent the whole day catching up, it was incredible," he said.
Those days are long gone. Interestingly, a few weeks ago I wrote a story about the Chatterbox, and in that article owner Tom Repici lamented the loss of those families coming to the shore looking for a vacation rental. Would-be renters are using the Internet, they don't need to come to the shore.
"It hit me when I read that, this has revolutionized our industry, but think about what it has done to the restaurants and other businesses," Booth said.
Indeed. There aren't many families coming down to look anymore. Which also means that very few people are in town during the winter to visit open houses, either.
"True, that's a good point," he said. "It used to be on a winter weekend that you would have to walk sideways through the bodies to get through our office. It was packed all day on a weekend.
"I could never understand that whole family coming down to look for a rental," said Booth. "They would be so excited to go and look, it was all part of the vacation planning. When you think about it, these people would take a vacation to Florida or California and not do that. It was like a tradition, a ritual, they had to come down and take a look.
"Now, they don't do that anymore," he said. "They look at the picture and pick it out online. Mom's working, the kids are playing basketball and baseball, they have activities and games and they don't want to come down if they don't have to. People are busier now, and the Internet allows them to book that vacation and take it right off the to-do list."
Booth said he has noticed it around town on weekends.
"You see a few second homeowners, a few potential renters, but not many people, it's changed the whole way we do business and it's really put a damper on the traffic, too," he lamented.
"You might start to see this affect other areas," he said. "Advertising makes the phone ring, but maybe we'll be doing more advertising on-line. You don't see many classified ads for cars anymore, the Internet has changed the everyday habits of the American people."
Booth said one big change is welcome.
"It used to be when you had a contract that had to be signed to close a deal, you would have to drive to Olga's Diner on Route 73 or the rest stop on the Expressway or drive to the suburbs of Philadelphia," he said. "I did that so many times. Then you'd have to make a change and do the same thing the next night. You did a lot of driving and it took a lot of time.
"Today, we point and click and make changes with a fax machine," he said. "There are a ton of things about the computer that have made real estate easier. It certainly has made it more timely to complete a transaction. Even when the buyer is looking for a mortgage, you can get online and get the rates and not have to chase down a rep."
Steve Booth, Prudential,Fox and Roach 34th Street office 609 399-8822
Booth is the manager of Prudential, Fox and Roach's 34th Street office.
When Steve Booth started selling real estate years ago, he would arrive at work on a Sunday morning and find people waiting for the office to open. Before long, there would be lines of people waiting for a free agent, print-outs and keys to begin the arduous search for a summer rental.
"We spent the whole day catching up, it was incredible," he said.
Those days are long gone. Interestingly, a few weeks ago I wrote a story about the Chatterbox, and in that article owner Tom Repici lamented the loss of those families coming to the shore looking for a vacation rental. Would-be renters are using the Internet, they don't need to come to the shore.
"It hit me when I read that, this has revolutionized our industry, but think about what it has done to the restaurants and other businesses," Booth said.
Indeed. There aren't many families coming down to look anymore. Which also means that very few people are in town during the winter to visit open houses, either.
"True, that's a good point," he said. "It used to be on a winter weekend that you would have to walk sideways through the bodies to get through our office. It was packed all day on a weekend.
"I could never understand that whole family coming down to look for a rental," said Booth. "They would be so excited to go and look, it was all part of the vacation planning. When you think about it, these people would take a vacation to Florida or California and not do that. It was like a tradition, a ritual, they had to come down and take a look.
"Now, they don't do that anymore," he said. "They look at the picture and pick it out online. Mom's working, the kids are playing basketball and baseball, they have activities and games and they don't want to come down if they don't have to. People are busier now, and the Internet allows them to book that vacation and take it right off the to-do list."
Booth said he has noticed it around town on weekends.
"You see a few second homeowners, a few potential renters, but not many people, it's changed the whole way we do business and it's really put a damper on the traffic, too," he lamented.
"You might start to see this affect other areas," he said. "Advertising makes the phone ring, but maybe we'll be doing more advertising on-line. You don't see many classified ads for cars anymore, the Internet has changed the everyday habits of the American people."
Booth said one big change is welcome.
"It used to be when you had a contract that had to be signed to close a deal, you would have to drive to Olga's Diner on Route 73 or the rest stop on the Expressway or drive to the suburbs of Philadelphia," he said. "I did that so many times. Then you'd have to make a change and do the same thing the next night. You did a lot of driving and it took a lot of time.
"Today, we point and click and make changes with a fax machine," he said. "There are a ton of things about the computer that have made real estate easier. It certainly has made it more timely to complete a transaction. Even when the buyer is looking for a mortgage, you can get online and get the rates and not have to chase down a rep."
Steve Booth, Prudential,Fox and Roach 34th Street office 609 399-8822
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