Realtors band together in tough economy

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) - Within three years the number of homes sold has been cut in half. Now realtors are fighting back to win your business.

It can be especially tough when your one main job is to find a buyer, and there are no buyers coming to the table.

Local realtors are considering a number of remedies

Total real estate sales in the Grand Rapids metro area have been sliced in half. Instead of $2.3 billion in total sales, the market's looking more like $1.2 billion. Realtors are having a tough time staying upbeat, but some say there is no other option.

"There is no plan B," said realtor Dawn Longcorp. "I've done other things. This is where my passion lies."

To keep that kind of sentiment full speed ahead, today the Grand Rapids Real Estate Association held a one of a kind summit on simply how to survive. It was part motivation, part education.

"We believe as a group we have more strength than we do individually," said Greg Carlson, Grand Rapids Association of Realtors .

In other words, if you're buying or selling a home, expect more cooperation between brokerage companies, not more competition.

Realtors are also debating more control over how much of their data should be released to the public. Buyers and sellers can now get data they used to pay for, free of charge.

"Part of our community believes we shouldn't give out any of this information," said Carlson. "We should make them come to us, that will bring them to us. Others are saying, this is the day and age of the consumer and we have to be consumer centric."

Realtors are also trying new ways to lower their price. Many are offering a la carte menus, charging lower commissions for individual services.

In any case, it's a tough market. And you can expect some changes for the interim and perhaps, forever.