Boutique One-Stop Shops

Smaller boutique agencies also offer one-stop services. Bernstein Realty founder and president Amy Bernstein said that her company, which she started in 1985, began expanding its offerings as clients requested more services. Today, Bernstein Realty’s 50 agents also handle property management, apartment finding and corporate relocation services. These services include working with relocating employees to help them understand the Houston market through tours, seminars and questionnaires.

The high demand for housing and the short supply can make finding a home difficult for many of the corporate transferees who come to Bernstein. The firm’s rental location service can fit many of their needs, down to providing furnishings and even linens and other household necessities.

“Many times these transferees end up going into temporary lodging accommodations, which we now handle as well,” Bernstein said. “We furnish corporate apartments, so it’s not just home sales, and a lot of times an employee or transferee or even a local person will end up doing just a plain rental until they can find a home or they’re comfortable making a purchase decision or while their home is being built.”

Bernstein Realty’s property management services give the company a way to serve clients who are transferring out of the area and who want to hold onto their homes in case they are called back. The company also handles rental properties for local investors.

“With the market appreciating the way it has been in Houston, many of these transferees are hesitant to sell their homes,” she said. “Because if and when they transfer back to Houston, if the market keeps appreciating at the rate it’s appreciating, they are afraid that they wouldn’t be able to buy back into the area that they lived.”

Bernstein said that her firm’s clients appreciate the hands-on services provided, but that she does not anticipate expanding to offer mortgage or insurance services. Those services are best left to specialists, she said. Her clients appreciate the close attention that her company gives to finding the right home for each customer.

“We have found that being a full service realty company with a vast array of services has really helped our business from the standpoint of the consumer,” Bernstein said. “They can come to us and they know that we’re going to take care of their real estate needs, whether it’s buying selling leasing or managing, that we can help them with that wide range of services.”