03/15/2021
One Year Later
Last March, amid shelter-in-place orders and deep uncertainty, the real estate and mortgage markets shuddered. So did thousands of people who were trying to buy or sell a home. Closings were delayed, mortgage products vanished, and no one, myself included, knew exactly where we were headed.
Our Long & Foster companies shined in this moment.
While others scrambled, we delivered. Each of you, backed by our all-inclusive model—real estate, mortgage, settlement, insurance, moving and more, working together, on one team—gave tens of thousands of clients confidence and stability, when very little of those things were to be had.
As I reflected on this—around the one-year mark of the Covid-19 pandemic—it became clear that what we have built at Long & Foster is valuable beyond measure to both our clients and agents. Our approach creates a superior real estate experience, one that lets people dream rather than worry, even in the most trying circumstances, and to feel, and be, fully taken care of.
Like Warren Buffett said in his annual shareholder letter, those with ideas and ambition can succeed beyond their wildest dreams by improving the customer experience.
That’s Long & Foster and our all-inclusive model.
Our team delivers an experience that outshines our competitors—in fact, many have publicly said they strive to offer our model themselves. It’s a powerful and unique benefit that sets you apart and wins you more business. No other agent, at no other company, can deliver this experience today—and it’s one that we know consumers want.
Working together, as one
While we’ve long offered core services, their value stood out through the pandemic. Our real estate agents adapted, learning to help their clients buy and sell virtually. Our mortgage and settlement teams leveraged digital technologies, as well as innovative socially distant in-person closings, to protect our agents and their clients. Likewise, our insurance partners seamlessly transitioned to remote service, and our moving company adjusted protocols to protect consumers.
This was not an easy year for any of us, and I recognize the challenges we have faced as we learned to live in our new reality. By working together, as one Long & Foster, we’ve not only moved through the pandemic, we’ve come out stronger.
Looking ahead, our model stands out as not only a better way to buy and sell real estate, but the only way. I look forward to achieving this together—taking care of all our customers’ real estate needs, as one team, so they can get where they want to go, home.
Jeff Detwiler
President & CEO
