Chuck Poteet is the broker and owner of Chuck Poteet Properties working in 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 Chuck Poteet, broker and owner of Chuck Poteet Properties. 

Houston Agent (HA): As a broker and an owner, what are some characteristics you look for in a new agent and why?

Chuck Poteet (CP): After 30 years in the business and experience with both big and small brokerages – 25 years ago I was the first RE/MAX office in the Memorial area. Being with a franchise and now being on my own, I’ve had the chance to work with a lot of agents and brokers over the years. And the one’s that I’ve found to be most successful and best capable of maintaining their careers in real estate have, one, a passion for the industry. And two, the person has a servant’s hear, because that’s what we do – serve the public. Yes, we’re in the business to make a career and a profit and providing for our families, but the end result is serving people.

I look for people who have the attitude that they’re here to serve the public, not themselves. That’s what gives people the stay power when things don’t go right, like when the industries down or they run into a bad client. I want the people who will preserve.

A final thing I’ll add is a thing we say in our office is family first. When your home life is a mess, everything else in your life will be. So I always encourage my agents to take the time to focus on their families and make sure things are good at home.

HA: The number of HAR members, which currently stands just shy of 30,000, is quickly approaching the number of available residential properties in the Houston area, which is roughly 44,000 to 45,000. Considering this dwindling margin, how should Realtors position themselves to best succeed in the increasingly competitive market?

CP: What I tell our agents is that it’s more important than ever for them to improve their skills as a Realtor to stand out, and that means putting in the time and taking the initiative. When I first obtained my real estate license I told myself that if I was going to make this my career then I needed to keep learning. I first enrolled in the Graduate Real Estate Institute and started taking classes. The next step was to get my CRS, certified residential specialist, designation; and then my certified buyer rep designation; and then a number of other designations that have ultimately expanded my base of services. While I was getting all of these designations, to make sure I could take the next step in my career, I started working towards my broker’s license so I could open up my own office.

The reason I bring this stuff up is because I believe it’s important agents take these steps and expand their knowledge base and what they’re capable of doing for the client, in order to stay successful and stand out in a dense field of competitors. You need to be the sharpest knife in the bunch.

HA: In recent months, oil prices have plummeted. Considering Houston’s position as the nation’s energy hub, how can agents expect to be affected by this change?

CP: With oil prices trending down, it’s a matter of history repeating itself. When I started in 1984, it was during the decade’s big oil bust. And what I found is that there were a lot of people who were very negative, who liked to complain about how things weren’t going to work out for them, but I was very optimistic about the opportunities to still serve people; if we’re serving people, we’re going to meet new needs. People will always have real estate needs.

What’s happening now and will even more in the future is low oil prices are resulting in layoffs from the big energy companies. This means that clients who are laid off may be looking to downsize, and we need to be ready for when we get that call. There may be some people who can’t afford their home and they may just need to lease out their home, and that means we need options for them. We need to be their resource for direction and information. If they need help relocating, we need to be there for them.

I’m confident that whether oil prices are up or down, people will still have real estate needs.