Going for Brokers

Dangling a T-shirt, umbrella, split of champagne or drawings for gift certificates from Nordstrom or Saks doesn't hurt either. "In new construction, it's very common for gifts to be given to agents who come to see a property, especially condo projects," said Yolanda Mamone, senior vice president and director of residential sales for Randall Hagner.

Agents are also becoming more savvy about using technology to reach each other, she said.

In addition to corporate Web sites, there are agent Web sites, mass e-mailings, and brokers' open house announcements on the multiple listing service. Those last are particularly useful, Mamone said. "Agents can look at the MLS and quickly see what's open. If we're holding an open house ourselves [that weekend], we need to be able to tell clients where to go."

Ty Hreben, with Coldwell Banker's Georgetown office, is sold on sending broadcast e-mailings, even though many agents hate receiving them. Hreben's presentations resemble traditional postcards, with colorful backgrounds, fancy fonts and glitzy photos of his new listings. A service e-mails them to all the agents in the area.

"There's so much out there, it's hard to stay on top of it," he said. "It's a quick and easy way to see and say, 'Oh wait! A new condo in Dupont, what's this?' It allows my properties to reach more agents."

For Hreben, brokers' opens have been less successful. There are so many out there now that "I'll do a catered brunch or desserts from Whole Foods, and I won't get more than five to 10 people," he said. "Sometimes I end up eating it all myself. . . . Luncheons can be a total waste unless the agents who know the area know [the house] is well priced."

Mamone agreed. "You could have the most fabulous luncheon in the world, and if it isn't priced properly people are not going to go," she said. "Agents are going to look at properties their buyers will buy."

Occasionally a brokers' open will be held when a home has been languishing on the market long past the time it should have sold. Agents are invited in and asked for advice on pricing -- or fixing possible flaws -- and the collective wisdom of those experts is distilled and presented to the client along with a fresh plan of attack.

"Sometimes [a home] is taken off the market for a month and people have landscaping, painting, floors redone or add a new bathroom," Mamone said. "Things to enhance the home if it hasn't been prepared to the nth degree."

Or, based on the response, the price will be reduced, a touchy area for sellers still stuck in the glory days of 2005. "This is something we'll see more of," Abeillé said.

"It's ammunition that the listing agent can take to the seller: 'Listen, this is where they [the other agents] think the price should be.' "

For the most part, established agents are inclined to dismiss gimmicks and rely on old-fashioned networking, Mamone noted. "Top-tier agents call other top-tier agents to say, 'I hope you've seen my new listing. If you haven't, let me make it easy for you.' "

Picking up the phone and calling other agents "is probably as or more effective" than gifts, lunches and other costly marketing efforts, said Judi Seiden of Prudential Carruthers Realtors on Capitol Hill. However, she will also hold a brokers' open "when access to a property is difficult," she said.

Take the senator's home, which will never be open to the public. "Even with the best marketing in the world, if access is restricted it handicaps the sale," Seiden said.

For Seiden, the weapon of choice is the telephone. "Any good agent is actively scouring the market for homes that suit their clients' needs. I know who is working for the most part in what price range, and I've done my job if I bring homes to their attention."

She added, "This is Washington. We all lobby."