SOUND OFF

Nicole Pope

Q: How has your online presence impacted your job as a realtor?

A: It’s been great for us. There are more web-savvy clients that look at the Internet for a place to search for a home.

There are some non-MLS sites that offer information for people and for them and it’s very convenient. Being online presents another way for buyers and sellers to find the right type of property as well as the right type of agent. Houston is a wide market and it is very competitive. There are lots of agents to choose from who are looking for those buyers and sellers.

Having an online presence is an advantage, but most importantly it creates a level playing field with the big realtors in the area. The larger brokerage may have a staff of maybe 400 agents. As a smaller brokerage, Casey Pope Properties primarily lists luxury properties, and because of the Internet’s reach to local and global buyers, we sold more than $50 million in 2012 with only eight full-time realtors.

We are the marketing arm for fine properties and experts in selling homes and land from River Oaks and Memorial to Tanglewood and Fulshear. Although we are on the Internet, most of our referrals still physically walk through our front doors. But having a presence online definitely has been positive.

— Nicole Pope, Casey Pope Properties