Michelle Cannon is the broker and owner of Cannon Realty & Associates working in northwest Houston.
Every week, we ask a Houston real estate professional for their thoughts on the top three stories from the week before. This week, we spoke with Michelle Cannon, the broker and owner of Cannon Realty & Associates.
Houston Agent (HA): Looking back on 2014, how would you sum up Houston’s real estate market performance, and where do you think it’s going in 2015?
Michelle Cannon (MC): 2014 was a great year for real estate! My target market is northwest Houston, particularly The Woodlands. Myself, along with my agents at Cannon Realty & Associates, kept very busy! It definitely was a seller’s market with a limited amount of inventory to an overwhelming amount of buyers. It seemed that with every listing, we had multiple offers within hours of going on the market. As a result, we experienced over 80 percent growth from 2013, where we were ranked in the top 6 percent of all brokerages in Houston, to 2014, where we were ranked in the top 4 percent of all brokerages in Houston, based on volume. Houston’s booming economy and strong job market combined with low interest rates helped provide the ideal environment for buying and selling real estate. I see 2015 as another banner year in real estate. It seems that market indicators are still going strong for 2015.
HA: One of our recent features discussed some of the strategies for developing a strong referral network. What are you methods for gaining referrals and holding on to clients throughout their lifetime?
MC: My number one tool for gaining referrals is customer service! I go above and beyond with exceptional service from the beginning of our client relationship to beyond the closing table. I make sure to keep in touch with past clients and possible future clients on a monthly basis. I treat all my clients the same no matter the price point. Customer recommendations and client feedback from Zillow, Trulia and HAR are very important to me. I take customer satisfaction very seriously.
HA: A recent survey found that new home construction starts in Houston were up, which should bode well for the city considering the low levels of inventory. Do you think strong building will be able to continue in the new year, why or why not?
MC: Yes. We are so far behind on inventory and the building process takes months to complete, therefore new construction should remain strong for 2015. Not to mention, the continued growing demand for new construction due to the job market and economic growth in Houston.