Vivian Dimond is the broker/co-founder of Avatar Real Estate Services in Coconut Grove
This week, we talked with Vivian Dimond, the broker/co-founder of Avatar Real Estate Services in Coconut Grove. A highly regarded real estate professional with nearly 30 years experience, Dimond also co-founded Dimond Development LLC, and is the general partner of Grand Bay Grove LLC.
Miami Agent (MA): We recently wrote a story that looked at the various features of online listings – and which of those features, among photos, contacts information, etc., that homebuyers liked the most. When your agents are listings their properties online, what features do they focus on having?
Vivian Dimond (VD): When we do online, I believe the most important thing is to have a virtual tour. People can actually see the whole house, as if they are walking through it. I find that to be very important.
[The prospective buyers] get a feel for it; a picture is worth 1,000 words, but when you are moving from one room to another, you get the feeling as if you are walking through the house.
MA: Keeping in the theme of tech, are there certain kinds of technology that you find to be particularly important to your real estate business?
VD: We have an in-house marketing department, and we have an in-house company that really does this for us.
Our agents are very spoiled, in the sense that we provide all of that to them as a company; other companies don’t do that. The more services you give your agents, the better salespeople they are, so we try to make it easy and affordable for them.
[Regarding how clients respond to technology], it depends on the client – the older generation not as much as the younger generation.
MA: In terms of activity, what would you say are the busiest local markets in Miami’s real estate market right now?
VD: Right now, it appears to be on the beach, but the market is really active everywhere.
I just came back from Europe – I spent 19 days there – and when people asked me where I was from, and I said “Miami,” everybody wanted a piece of Miami, whether it was the waitress at the restaurant or the manager of the hotel. Everybody wants to come to Miami. They all have the fantasy that Miami is a paradise of everything.
Our prices are still low, compared to other places in the world. We have great weather, and we have a lot to offer.