Real Estate Retrievers opens in Worthington with familiar faces

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WORTHINGTON — Real Estate Retrievers may be a new name in the Worthington business community, but its office will be filled with familiar faces. Six local — and seasoned — real estate agents will staff the newest Real Estate Retrievers office located at 339 Oxford St.

Owners Matt and Cindy Larson of Sioux Falls, S.D., decided to open a Worthington satellite office — their sixth Real Estate Retrievers location — at the behest of those local agents, who saw the need for a a new real estate presence in the Worthington community.

“We had decided in December we weren’t going to open any more offices,” said Matt Larson with a laugh. “But this was just a good opportunity for us to get good, seasoned agents, and it made it hard for us not to do.”

In addition to Sioux Falls, Real Estate Retrievers is also located in Madison, S.D., Larchwood, Iowa, and Luverne, Marshall and Pipestone. Worthington seemed like a natural expansion of their territory, according to Matt, especially since his wife, Cindy (Schaap) is originally from the city. Within a matter of days, Real Estate Retrievers had secured a Worthington staff and location.

Agents in the Worthington office are: Jesse Drost, Virginia Drost, Sarah Hayenga, Lori Grafing, Sheila Pederson and Bob Wasmund.

Broker Matt Larson is a 10-year veteran of the real estate business, first working for Coldwell Banker for five years before striking out on his own under the Real Estate Retrievers name. Despite the tough economic times, Larson is optimistic about the outlook for real estate in the local area.

“Last year, we sold 59 percent more houses than in ’07,” he detailed. “It was a very good year, and this year is starting out good, too.”

Larson believes his company has the right attitude and tools in place to continue to be successful in the months to come.

“We strive to have our agents know the market and set expectations right with the sellers,” he explained. “Company-wide, we belong to four MLS (multiple listing services) … so we can put our listings on these listing services, and they get more exposure than just the local agents showing them.

“Each agent is independent, and they set their own hours,” added Larson. “They make their own way.”

In the Worthington area, Larson sees a demand for moderately-priced homes; there just isn’t a market currently for the houses with the higher price tags.

“In most markets now, the upper-end stuff is pretty tough to sell,” he admitted.

Real Estate Retrievers specializes in residential real estate, but also does listings for commercial properties and lot sales. Auctions are also a possibility with a couple of auctioneers on the staff.

Office hours at the Worthington Real Estate Retrievers office will be from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday.

“And, of course, it’s 24 hours a day by appointment,” Larson added.

For more information, phone 727-9812.

On the Net:

www.realestateretrievers.com

Tags: news, business, worthington, realestateretrievers, mattlarson, matt, larson