I spoke to a former Help-U-Sell franchisee yesterday who said there were 32 franchises in the metro Phoenix area at the peak. Now, there are only three and one works out of his home.
This is second-hand information, of course, and may not be completely accurate.
There are those who have been predicting forever that traditional brokerages would soon be displaced by companies like Help-U-Sell.
Right now, many homeowners are being forced to sell with little or no equity, a time when you would think discount brokerages would thrive.
Just the opposite has happened.
The reality is that selling homes is very expensive for agents and real estate brokerages, and Help-U-Sell apparently couldn’t make enough money once homes stopped flying off the shelf.
{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
Justin McHood 06.26.08 at 1:30 pm
Wow. Everyone I talk to (who is still in the industry) has been impacted by the downturn. This is a great example of what big-time-downsizing-but-still-fighting-for-life looks like I think.
Ryan 06.27.08 at 10:08 am
John, I don’t think it is fair to single out Help U Sell. There have been boat loads of traditional offices closing in the area as well. No one is immune to this market.
John Wake - Real Estate 06.27.08 at 11:39 am
Ryan, true but I had numbers for Help-U-Sell, I don’t have numbers for the others.
And I guess I have a little bit of commission fatigue where people think real estate agents make this ungodly amount of money. Well, if agents are making so much money, how come this brokerage that charged less (and provided fewer services) than many brokerages couldn’t make it?
My point is that most people grossly underestimate the time and money needed to sell real estate… apparently Help-U-Sell and a lot of other brokerages did too.
Jay Thompson 06.27.08 at 3:21 pm
Ryan - I’m not picking on you, but I was wondering if you are a Help-U-Sell agent/broker? Not that it matters, as there is certainly nothing wrong with that. I looked on your blog but didn’t see a brokerage listed (a violation of NAR COE Standard of Practice 12-9 by the way. You may want to add it).
You are absolutely right, there have been many large franchise offices that have closed their doors. But I think John makes a valid point.
Ryan 06.30.08 at 11:12 am
No I am not a HUS broker. You say John makes a valid point, what is the point? Apparently the point of the article is that it is expensive to sell real estate, and people need to be made aware of that? If you are trying to make that point, what does Help U Sell office closings have to do with the cost of selling real estate? Why not say “Cost of Selling Real Estate Drive Some Out of Business?” In the second paragraph is basically says the info is a rumor and he doesn’t know the facts. Let’s not fool ourselves here, I think we all know the point that is trying to be made and I think it is reckless. What do the current market conditions have to do with what you charge? I am not here to defend HUS or discount real estate, but why pick on one company over the other? Like I said before, I could create a list a mile long with Re/Max, Coldwell Banker, C21, and thousands of independents that have had to close their doors. Does this mean the traditional high commission model doesn’t work either?