Lesson Learned: Stop trying to game the market

In this weekly column, real estate agents across the nation share stories of the lessons they’ve learned during their time in the industry.

A native of Miami, Jaclyn Bild learned the ins and outs of the industry early on from her family’s property management and real estate business. With an extensive local network and rock-solid market knowledge, she is a valuable resource to her Douglas Elliman family and a recipient of the Diamond Circle, reserved for DE’s top 3 percent of agents nationally. Find out why she says guessing games don’t work when it comes to real estate.

How long have you been in the business, and how did you get started?

I was born and raised in Miami and grew up in a real estate family. While every conversation found its way back to real estate and I did become a Florida-licensed real estate broker in 2008 – real estate was not always the plan.

After graduating from Washington University in St. Louis with a double major in finance and marketing, I picked up and moved to New York City to work for J.P. Morgan Private Bank, managing assets for high net-worth individuals and working as an analyst at a design start-up. Eventually, I realized my heart has always been in South Florida real estate. Fast forward to 2015 and my full-time focus finally shifted to South Florida real estate, and I’ve been on the fast track ever since.  

Where do you see yourself in five years?

Right where I am, leading one of the top teams at the best brokerage in the U.S., albeit in an expanded capacity with additional agents to service our growing clientele.

What’s one big lesson you’ve learned in real estate?

Real estate prices will continue to rise as long as there are more buyers than sellers. This simple supply and demand concept often gets lost on people who ill-fatedly try to time the market and call tops or bottoms.

How did you learn it?

All too often during the past year, I’ve had clients lose out on their dream homes because of the fear of a market cool-down, only to watch the market appreciate and their options dwindle.  Buying or selling in this market takes a certain level of holding your nose and diving in. I had a client pull out of a waterfront home sale at the end of last year and now that same property is reselling for double.

 What advice would you give to new agents? 

Take any deal you can to the extent you have the time. Essentially, say yes to every opportunity no matter how small. I built many of my lucrative and impactful relationships through rentals.  I always treat every deal like it’s the most important one I’ve ever worked on – whether it’s a $2k rental or a $12 million home. Renters turn into buyers and sellers — and referrals. 

Christy Murdock is a Realtor, freelance writer, coach and consultant and the owner of Writing Real Estate. She is also the creator of the online course Crafting the Property Description: The Step-by-Step Formula for Reluctant Real Estate Writers. Follow Writing Real Estate on Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.

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