Pettingell ranks No. 1 for 2013 sales volume

Roger Pettingell sells real estate with help from two cellphones, three laptops and four full-time employees.

The staff of four — up from two in 2012 — is just one example of how the Coldwell Banker Residential Real Estate broker associate grew his business in 2013.

Pettingell revamped his website, longboatrealestate.com, began a blog on the site and expanded his social media presence.

His sales grew as well, rising to $61.85 million in sales volume in 2013 from $50.7 million in sales volume in 2012, making him the top-ranked Realtor for sales volume in Sarasota and Manatee counties, according to the Sarasota-Manatee Multiple Listing Service (MLS). It’s the second consecutive year and the fourth year since 2008 that Pettingell earned the distinction.

Pettingell considers Internet marketing and use of social media websites as an increasingly important part of his business. His team builds a unique website for each of his listings and creates a video for many properties.

“I see it more as building a foundation for the future,” he said. “There’s some evidence that younger people aren’t using Facebook quite as much, but the generation we’re seeing is definitely using it.”

Pettingell began his career with Arvida Corp. in 1983, after graduating from Guilford College, in Greensboro, N.C. He originally thought he would take the year off before starting medical school. But he chose to stick with real estate, in part because he found it offered him a new experience every day.

Technology was an important part of Pettingell’s business, even in the early years. In 1989, he was the first person in his office to purchase his own computer. At the time, others told him it was a waste because real estate was all about relationships.

Pettingell, who currently has 34 listings ranging in price from $495,000 to $6.9 million, expects 2013 trends to continue.

“The biggest trend is buyers have confidence in the market. It’s still perceived as getting a value because we’re still off of the highs we hit in 2005, and if you compare our area to places like Naples or Palm Beach or to big cities like New York or Chicago, our prices are still inexpensive,” he said.

Contact Robin Hartill at [email protected]