Are Realtors a Stumbling Block to People Living Downtown?
Realtors serve as the ambassador to the city. As people move into the town they rely on the realtor’s knowledge of the “best” neighborhoods to live in.
Over the past 10 years our downtown, like many small to mid-sized downtowns across the country, has seen a massive transformation. Shuttered business and boarded up windows have been replaced with office dwellers, merchants, restauranteurs, and studio loft residents. The first Friday of each month thousands of locals and out of town visitors come to partake in the festivities of downtown, with merchants, restaurants and street vendors staying open late. Many of these visitors are in fact realtors and developers. As a small bakery owner on Main Street, we set up on the street in front of our bakery, which provides the perfect opportunity interact with those out enjoying the festivities.
My mom, and business partner, has been a Realtor in town for 40 years and has taught and/or knows all 1,000+ realtors in our town. We visit with them and talk about how amazing the turn around is in downtown and often reflect on the memories of the way downtown used to be. Depending on the age of the person, that story can vary. For my mom and those of her generation, it was a vibrant city center with many residents living downtown. For me and my generation, it was an out of date, boarded up and forgotten part of town.
Inevitably, our conversations will turn to the renovations and urban housing developments we are doing downtown, and that is where the tone of the conversation changes. Many of the realtors are shocked that we are “able to find” people willing to live downtown. Many ask if we are crazy, and if we are having to “give the houses away”. In spite of them being downtown and enjoying the atmosphere at that very moment, it is difficult to overcome 50 years of stigma that downtown is “unsafe” and come to the realization that people are living downtown.
Led by Roosevelt’s New Deal and all of the infrastructure that sprang up after World War II, new sprawling suburban neighborhoods located away from downtown centers became the hot new trend and desired place to live. This trend has persisted for many years; decades in fact. However, a shift back to city centers is sweeping the nation. There are several generations, with wide varying age ranges, both with and without children, that actually desire the close, cozy, walkable access to local shops, businesses, restaurants and eclectic grocers, all while still having the sense of neighborhood and community with lofts, townhomes and houses located all around the downtown area.
While demographic trends reflect the return of yuppies, families and empty nesters to walkable urban centers and new life in small to mid-sized cities all over the country, the Realtors’ long held biases are too strong to put these new urban communities at the forefront of their recommendations to newcomers.
I recall visiting with a buyer of the first townhome we built and sold in downtown Bryan. The buyer was a professor at Texas A&M and new to the area. After taking the position, she was set up with a realtor to find housing. The realtor took her to all the “popular”, well groomed, sprawling suburbs south of town. “Oh no, this is not what I am looking for. I am looking for an urban scene with walkability and density.” This response was probably equally as shocking to the realtor as it was to her that the realtor would show her homes in the suburbs. With that experience she rented a loft downtown and took some time to evaluate the community for herself.
One of the benefits of having a realtor is their knowledge of the town and neighborhoods. Unfortunately, these recommendations are often based on traditional filters. It is human nature to form opinions based on our experiences and perceptions and it can be difficult to change them. Therefore, it is important for transforming neighborhoods to understand who they are, what their culture is and the value proposition they offer residents. That message must be communicated in a way that potential residents can find it. That is precisely our hope with Life In Downtown.
Interested in living or officing downtown? Check out the 2018 State of Downtown Report.
Written by: Katie Neason