Charles Hilbert

Operating Principal/Broker/Investor, Keller Williams Realty Greater Rochester/West and Keller Williams Realty Gateway

Years in current role: 12

What do you enjoy most about your role?

I enjoy helping and supporting a real estate agent become a business person. What I mean by this is that agents enter the business not realizing what they are about to begin. We teach them the economic model, the lead generation model, the budget model, and leverage model to go from an agent to having a business worth owning and a career worth having to live as big a life as they can dream.

What has been the biggest challenge you’ve dealt with over the past year?

The pandemic we all experienced was challenging for the entire real estate community as residential sales has traditionally been a face-to-face business. Realtors by nature thrive with people contact. The pandemic thrust our industry into a virtual world and to be successful each of us from broker to agent to consumer had to pivot your thinking. Homes were being listed virtually and advertised in the virtual world. We were very fortunate as we were working toward these two years in advance and when the virtual sales technique was required, we adjusted and kept moving forward. 2020 ended up being a record-breaking year for us at Keller Williams Realty and we continued to provide great service to our customers, and it showed in our results.

What do you see as the biggest changes in the real estate and construction industries in the next 3-5 years?

We have experienced the best appreciating market in over 30 years. Shortage of inventory, multiple offers and home price appreciation has been unprecedented. The next 3-5 years we will see a balanced market and a shift from a seller’s market to a potential buyer’s market. Sellers have become accustomed to over asking price offers and homes selling immediately. When the market shifts, which they all do, the seller and agent will have to rethink how the home is marketed and possible price reductions for the home to sell. The market will slow down, however, I believe the prices will hold and we are close to if not there to where home prices will remain. New construction has greater challenges as the cost of materials and labor has unfortunately exceeded the appreciation that existing home sellers have experienced.