A veteran team of real estate agents centered in Northwest Washington, D.C., and the nearby Maryland and Virginia suburbs has joined forces with Compass, citing the brokerage’s technological capacity.
The Banner Team, which Wendy Banner founded some 25 years ago, shifted from a longtime collaboration with the Long and Foster brokerage. Compass had the most residential transactions in the U.S. last year, according to real estate rankings firm RealTrends.
Compass’s technology is expected to help Banner and her colleagues save time and communicate more strategically, she told Homes.com.
“Nothing is going to replace a personal, face-to-face touch, but there are times it’s just not always feasible,” Banner told Homes.com. “So for clients to see what’s being done on their behalf in real time has proven very helpful, and for us to stay internally connected with the team.”
The team includes 13 agents based in Compass’ Chevy Chase, Maryland, office. Banner started out as a single agent in 1987 and gradually added people to her operation until she formalized it as a team. Besides listing agents, she now has colleagues whose priority is to market properties and build the team’s brand.
Over time, Banner’s team has become more focused on the luxury market, but she tries to have a diverse group of agents that can help clients buy or sell any type of property.
“I’ve strategically picked people to work with me who have different areas of expertise or are in different phases of life, to help clients from those just out of college to empty-nesters,” she said. “We have specialists in different locations around the [Washington] region.”
Banner prides herself on her team’s neighborhood insights. It helps that she’s moved at least 11 times around the Maryland suburbs northwest of the city, she said. She raised her own children in Potomac, Maryland’s Avenel neighborhood and worked with fellow residents to build a community pool, which was later taken over by the homeowners association.
Currently, the housing market “is a little spotty,” Banner said. Buyers aren’t necessarily gaining power on prices, but they have more leverage than they used to. For example, they’re more likely these days to make their offers contingent on a successful home inspection.
“The houses really need to look good, or they need to be priced accordingly,” she said. “We’re seeing buyers clawing back a little bit of power.”
