This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2006, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
LAYTON - It's hard to miss Matt Bingham and Tim Shea's billboard, which practically screams "Free Big-Screen TV" to drivers heading south on the city's Main Street.
Bingham and Shea may be peddling televisions, but they aren't in the electronics business. They are real estate agents trying to grab more market share in the ultra-competitive Wasatch Front residential real estate markets.
Utah's real estate market is booming, but in many areas, there are simply too many Realtors for most to make much of a living.
The Salt Lake Board of Realtors, for example, had about 5,700 Realtor members just one year ago. And today, it has nearly 7,000 - 200 of whom joined in March alone.
"That's huge growth in a couple of years," said Sharon Spratley, president of the Salt Lake Board of Realtors. "It's more competitive now."
That increased competition has led a number of agents this spring to try some creative marketing campaigns designed to attract clients.
While most Realtors are providing incentives to both buyers and sellers - the focus is often on attracting sellers because they are the ones who pay a commission equal to 6 percent of the sales price of their home to list their homes with a traditional real estate agent.
A growing number of sellers are questioning that commission, which is split between the buyer's and seller's real estate companies, and are considering trying to sell their homes themselves.
A free TV or some other perk can sometimes change their mind. Bingham and Shea, agents with Re/Max, have heard from buyers and sellers since putting up their billboard in January.
The pair, who have sold homes in Davis and Weber counties for years, were trying to figure out how they could drum up more business this home-buying season - specifically how they could get more buyers to view their listings.
"We thought about all kinds of things, and then came up with the free TV idea," Bingham said. "It has worked exactly like we hoped it would."
After closing, the pair's buyers and sellers are given a $900 gift certificate to buy a television set or anything else they need from a furniture or electronics retailer.
Tom Crabtree, of Roy, saw Bingham and Shea's billboard several weeks ago and, after talking with Bingham, agreed to list his home with them. It sold two days later, and the couple building another home nearby plan to use the gift certificate to buy a refrigerator or stove for their new house.
"If there's a Realtor offering something beyond what everyone else if offering, why not go with them?" Crabtree asked.
While the strategy has worked well in bringing in new customers, the pair underscore the fact that it definitely cuts into their profit margin and that they don't know how long they will be offering it.
"It's definitely not something we're going to offer forever," Bingham said.
Realtors Sterling and Melinda Brown, of West Jordan, are trying out an offbeat promotion of their own designed to lure new clients. The married couple, who are licensed real estate agents, are offering to move their buyers and sellers for free.
Starting in January, the couple have begun marketing their 26-foot truck as a way to bring in new customers. The Browns, who earn the typical 3 percent on properties listed for sale under the traditional 6 percent commission structure, will move buyers and sellers anywhere in Utah.
"We send a crew out to move them just as if they hired a moving company themselves," said Sterling Brown, who is affiliated with At Home Realty Network in Murray.
Brown said the promotion helps set he and his wife apart from the competition.
"There are so many Realtors out there, and we all do basically the same thing," he said. "I feel like we're offering something really different."
Bountiful Realtor Jeff Farr recently bought a 17-foot moving truck, too, but he doesn't plan to offer a full-service move. Farr, whose truck touts "Buy or Sell With Me, Use This Truck For Free," lets his buyers and sellers use the truck for free during their move.
The idea has proved to be popular with buyers and sellers.
Laura and Steven Checketts bought a Centerville home listed by Farr a couple of weeks ago.
The couple, who moved from North Salt Lake, used the moving truck for 2 1/2 days.
"It was a huge benefit," Laura Checketts said. "We didn't have to try to find our own moving van, and we didn't have to try and cram the move all in one day. It was really nice."
Not interested in a new TV or a moving van? How about a discounted commission or rebate? The number of discount agents and those offering some type of rebate of commissions paid also has proliferated.
Farmington real estate agent David Hebert is offering to take a 1 1/2 percent commission instead of the standard 3 percent commission to list a home, making the total commission paid by the seller 4 1/2 percent instead of 6 percent.
If one of his sellers also buys a property through him, Hebert, of Rocky Mountain Realty in Sandy, will refund - or rebate - half of a percent of the sales price he earns on that sale, too.
Hebert knows there are a lot of realty companies that promote discounted commissions or flat-fee access to the Multiple Listing Service.
He hopes to set himself apart by taking less in commissions but offering all the things an agent earning a full commission would do as well as the refund or rebate.
"There are a lot of discounters out there that will sell a house but they don't provide full-service options such as open houses," he said.
Hebert said he does all the things a regular agent does, such as staging open houses, showing the house to potential buyers and helping negotiate.
He said he probably will remain a "discount" agent indefinitely.
"There are a lot of real estate agents out there, competing for business," he said. "You want to stand out."
Realtor growth:
As the Wasatch Front's residential real estate market has grown, so has the number of Realtors. More agents, however, means more competition.
(members of the Salt Lake Board of Realtors)
Year Realtors
1970 1,186
1980 3,641
1990 2,228
2000 4,049
Today nearly 7,000
Realtor Income:
A number make as little as several thousand dollars of year. A handful make six-figure incomes. The majority aren't making enough to be their family's sole source of income.
Client perks:
Discounted commissions, TV sets, moving-van rental and full-service moving
Home sales
* In the first quarter of 2006, 3,149 homes sold in Salt Lake County, up from 2,929 in the same quarter in 2005 and 2,425 in 2004.
* The median selling price in the county was $200,747 in the first quarter, up from $172,000 in 2005 and $157,000 in 2004.
For sale by owner
In 2005, Utahns listed 676 properties on http://www.forsalebyowner.com, one of many Web sites devoted to people who want to sell their homes on their own, up from 104 in 2001. The numbers reflect only a tiny fraction of people who sell their homes without a Realtor; many use other Web sites or advertise in print, or simply put a for-sale sign in front of their home.