A Florida company that manufactures mansions for pooches has an offer for real estate professionals looking for new revenue sources in tough housing markets: 10 percent commission.
And that’s not something to scoff at – the houses sell for $10,500 to $100,000. Compare a 10 percent commission on that sale – all of which a single agent would take home – to a traditional home sale, where the buyer’s and seller’s agents each take home about 2.5 percent of the sale price.
There aren’t any San Diego retailers listed on the site, but a handful of the canine castles have made their way to California through a few L.A.- and Orange County-area distributors.
Here’s what the company’s founder had to say in a recent Newhouse News story:
“We know that in many areas the market has gone to the dogs, and the good news for Realtors is, so have we,” jokes Stacy Small, 37, who along with her partner Donald Gorbach, 48, a veteran real estate broker, founded Doggie Mansions this past summer. “The housing market has been pretty slow and it’s difficult to make money in a down market, and it occurred to both of us that this was a way we can have a sales force in place.”
The mansions, according to a Doggie Mansions press release, measure about 48 square feet and are built to match their owners’ home – whether Mediterranean, Tudor, New England, or a custom design.