Agent’s Go-Go Days Gone As Homebuyers Take Stock

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In the weeks before the attacks on the United States, life for Coldwell Banker real estate agent Stephanie Vitacco had been a whirl of activity.

A typical day started at 5 a.m., on the phone with a client back East. After another hour going over files, Vitacco was usually in the office by 8.

Today, the schedule remains the same, but whether the results keep pace with the boom of the last several months is an open question.

After a two-day slowdown in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attack on the East Coast, things appear to be picking up again. But Vitacco, 34, said it could weeks before it becomes clear whether the terrorist attacks and their economic fallout affect what had been a red-hot real estate market.

“I did hear several people say ‘I don’t know if I want to do anything until I see what happens with my stock because I have a lot of money in stocks,'” she says.

Up until the attack, homes in the San Fernando Valley had been flying off the market at a clip of close to 2,000 a month, a marked increase since the mid-1990s when sales were less than half that rate.

There’s no telling whether things will hold up. The economy, already shaky, now teeters under the weight of war drums.

“Tuesday and Wednesday (following the attack) the phones were so quiet,” Vitacco says. “It was probably the quietest I’ve seen it in, I can’t tell you. It was so weird. It was like, ‘Oh, wow, a phone call. What a concept.'”

Vitacco said the phones were ringing again by the weekend, but the calls were largely from worried sellers.


Manic pace

Though still constantly on the go, Vitacco said she has found she has to work a bit harder to keep the volume at pre-attack levels.

A couple of homeowners she has been chasing for listings decided against selling their homes because of the uncertain climate. Still, she considers it at worst a delay more “putting it on hold” than losing the listings.

What hasn’t happened is people close to buying homes backing out at least homes at the lower end of the market. “We still have a housing shortage,” Vitacco said. “People need a place to live.”

Where she has seen an immediate impact is in buyers’ interest on upgrading their lifestyles. Those who have got a place that accommodates the family are likely to stay put for a while, Vitacco says.

Before the terrorist attack, she kept the manic pace of an aggressive residential broker trying to keep up with the market.

A typical Monday morning meant that by the time she arrived at her Northridge office at 8 a.m., she had 20 voice mail messages from the weekend and 20 e-mails. And she works on weekends.

To deal with the workload, Vitacco’s staff of four has worked out its own method of communicating. While she’s in the office, Vitacco and company speak in every available second: while the phone rings on the other end, while they wait on hold, while they eat, while they search for files or, in one case, while they desperately hunt for a commission check. Vitacco prowls the office with a wireless telephone headset.

“Communication is the most important aspect in my business,” Vitacco says. And it’s not just communication among the folks in her office. Communication with the client is even more important. She carries two cell phones.

“It’s the single largest investment you deal with so you want to know what’s going on,” she says. “Also, it’s emotional because it’s the only investment you live in.”

The average home Vitacco sells is about $350,000. The least expensive home she’s ever sold was a $65,000 condo, the most expensive a $1.8 million home. All her work is in the Valley. There would be more money elsewhere, but she’s fine where she is.

“I grew up here and when I came up in this business this is where established myself,” Vitacco says. “If I were to go to a new area, I’d have to re-establish myself. I don’t want to start all over again.”


Distance as cushion

Vitacco says Californians certainly have a connection to New York and Washington, but that the physical distance can’t be ignored. Nearly 3,000 miles away is pretty far, she says, and as distracting and disturbing as the events of the past couple weeks have been, they aren’t taking people’s minds off their own lives.

What makes people react differently is the randomness of terrorism, she says.

Consider the standard earthquake hysteria. “When the (Northridge) earthquake hit, people were like, ‘We’re outta here,'” she says. “But you can’t run away from this. Where are you going to go?”

“It’s still too soon to tell” where things will go, she said, wary, but not scared. “So much of it’s going to depend on what Bush decides to do.”

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