Don’t tell Jason Farmer the real estate market is floundering.
Since founding a Re/Max real estate office 41/2 years ago on Cherokee Boulevard, Mr. Farmer has taken on a partner, Tony St. Charles, and has enlarged the business to include 37 real estate agents.
Not content to stand pat, Mr. Farmer has now decided to expand in multiple directions:
First, through his newly christened research division, Renaissance Real Estate Services, and second, by opening an Ooltewah office in September.
“We will be a serious force in the Chattanooga area,” Mr. Farmer said.
His new division provides advertising, research, marketing and sales outsourcing to commercial and residential developers.
Michael Sajdyk, director of the division, came to Chattanooga from Indianapolis for the opportunity to give both new and old developments in the region a “fresh start,” he said.
“We use research to help us see who we’re dealing with, why they chose the community or why they didn’t, what they like and don’t like about their home, and then create a profile on who is the ideal buyer,” Mr. Sajdyk said.
Renaissance Real Estate Services can help a developer at any stage in the process, he said, from identifying a prime location to decorating the model home and creating an advertising campaign.
This, according to Mr. Farmer, is a new concept for the Chattanooga area.
Mr. Farmer’s new Ooltewah office is part of the same push toward the future, Mr. Sajdyk said, a push toward “preparing for when the economy turns around, to make sure he’s in the right location with the right product.”
“We’re being very bullish right now in our company’s growth, we can almost double our size,” Mr. Farmer added.
He’s hired seven agents for the new office set to be completed Sept. 6.
“I think that’s the growth spot – Bradley County, Ooltewah, Collegedale, East Brainerd. That’s where the growth is,” he said.
Janis Robertson, who will move to the new office, said physical proximity to hotspots such as Ooltewah is still important in the digital age.
“I think it’s going to be more accessible to people who are interested in the city,” she said. “When you have an office that’s right here at your fingertips, I think you’re more willing to do a walk-in and talk to the Realtors that are in there.”
The market has turned the corner, Mr. Farmer believes, and the winners are those who stay ahead of the game.