Brian Ellsworth
Gundaker Metro South provides ‘one stop shop’ for clients
Although the red-hot housing market is showing signs of cooling off recently, plenty of homes are still being bought and sold through Gundaker Metro South in Festus, said Brian Ellsworth, branch manager of the Coldwell Banker Realty office at 602 S. Truman Blvd.
“Year to date, our listings are up 24 percent, while nationally, they’re down 7 percent,” Ellsworth said. “Our closed units during that time are up 12 percent, compared with the national average of being down 7 percent.”
Ellsworth attributes his office’s continued success to two factors.
“We have some great agents in our office, and we have the benefit of having partnerships that add value to our clients,” he said.
Ellsworth said long-term relationships with Guaranteed Rate Affinity and U.S. Title have proven to be win-wins for all concerned.
The real estate office, mortgage company and title company are in the same complex.
“We believe these partnerships add value for our clients because it’s kind of a one-stop shop for services needed to close a sale,” Ellsworth said. “We’ve found that more than 80 percent of our clients are looking for that kind of partnership. It makes for a more seamless transaction. We know how to communicate with each other and we know how to find each other.”
He said employees at all three companies are familiar with each other, which streamlines the processes of arranging for a mortgage and then finally closing the transaction.
“It’s not new for us, but it’s a focus of our company. All Coldwell Banker offices have partnerships with firms, but we’ve worked with Guaranteed Rate Affinity and U.S. Title for some time. Our clients say that this helps provide them a better experience.”
For more information, call the office at 636-931-2211.