Even during this housing bust, there are still brokerages looking to hire good talent – and some are seeing an opportunity to attract a different kind of agent.

With layoffs affecting all sectors of the economy, brokers are finding a deep pool of recruits available who have the technological savvy and business networking experience to tackle today’s tougher market.

Being able to use the Internet and its social networking tools to generate and follow up on leads is especially important as consumers have become less open to traditional techniques like cold calls, said Bob Yale, owner Northborough-based of Sperry Van Ness Realty. His office has taken on two younger brokers in the past few weeks.

“Those of us who have been in this for ten, 20 years can find it harder to adjust to what’s happening in the market today, as opposed to someone who’s technologically conscious and can recognize that the consumer has changed,” Yale told Banker & Tradesman.

Ernie Houde of Marlborough’s Ernie Houde Assoc. agreed.

“A lot of the old people who have been around a long time doing this, they don’t keep up with the times,” Houde says. “It’s a service business. It’s not a matter of taking them around and showing houses … 87 percent of our sales now are through the Internet.”

New Technology, Old Salesmanship

But being prepared to handle today’s buyers means not only being able to make the most of technology, but also being prepared to convince wary buyers who’ve done a lot of research on local properties.

“[With] people being so knowledgeable, you need a real salesperson,” someone familiar with cultivating leads who may bring with them a wide network of acquaintances from their previous employment, said Jim Lovett of Toomey-Lovett, which has offices in Spencer and West Brookfield.

Though historically real estate has attracted stay-at-home moms and others looking for a part-time, flexible income, Lovett says he’s now seeing many more experienced professionals looking to get in the game.

“We’re looking for the people who have been laid off,” said Donna Chase of Norwell’s The Chase Team. “The top-level executives who already have that experience, who are much more professional, and who have to support a family. They’re not going to play with this part time.”

She’s taken on four new agents in the last month, and said she’s seeing more applicants with executive experience express an interest in real estate, including engineers and CEOs.

Familiarity with modern office database management systems, e-mail systems and mobile technology is also a big boost for modern real estate agents.

Martin Kalisker, of Wellsely-based Synergy-Metrowest, says that while persistence and follow-up are still key, having the tech savvy to complement those traits is essential to converting Internet leads.

“It’s a matter of having a system set up, automating the chores that keep you from appointments and using them to stay in front of the people who are ready to buy,” Kalisker says. Younger agents, he said, are easier to train on new technologies.

Trying To Keep Up

The need to keep up is prodding established agents as well.

“We’re working with so many younger buyers, the older brokers realize they have to catch up,” said Peggy Dinger, chair of the marketing and technology committee for the Plymouth and South Shore Realtors Association (PASS).

PASS is considering moving up its annual tech fair to earlier in the year and incorporating a REBAR camp. Invented on the West Coast in 2008, a REBAR camp is a new type of informal conference. Instead of a pre-determined schedule of expert speakers being invited in to give presentations, in a REBAR camp the participants themselves offer to teach mini-classes on new techniques and programs they’ve been using, with schedules worked out ad hoc, allowing people to mingle easily and share their skills, becoming familiar with many new technologies quickly.

Still, not all agents are looking to ride the tech wave.

“There are some basic things you need to know how to do,” said Peter Ruffi of Options 153 Real Estate in Plymouth. “I question how many deals actually get done (using social networking sites). I’ve yet to get a referral off of Facebook.”