Quote of the day from a big broker owner: "Nearly every brokerage company in SF is for sale – people are running for the hills."
— Brad Inman (@bradInman) June 26, 2018
For an industry that has been stagnant and mostly unaffected by disintermediation/disruption over the last couple of decades, you get the feeling that change might be afoot now.
It’s asking a lot, but what we really need is transparency.
We are at the fork-in-the-road where agents and consumers alike want and need to choose between the traditional model of selling homes or one of the newfangled disrupter ways.
But the services being offered are blurry. The disrupters call themselves realtors and say they provide the same full service. Big teams say because they’ve sold so many homes that their way is the best. Individual agents get caught in the middle somewhere.
If every agent described exactly what they do to earn their fee, then at least the consumers might be able to compare apples to apples.
Every agent has their 100-point marketing plan, a fabulous support team, and is in the Top 1%. Let’s go beyond those basics.
To make it easier for consumers, let’s boil it down to the most important part of the equation – what is the one critical question to ask an agent?
‘Who and where are you at the point of sale?’
The frenzy has simmered down, and we’re back to the regular hand-to-hand real estate combat in the streets. This is when buyers and sellers need real and effective guidance on when to make the deal.
If you choose a discounter, inexperienced agent, or get stuck with an assistant, you will get a tepid response. Their lack of experience in guiding you to make the right decision when everything is on the line will cause them to be conservative, and not commit. You will be left to your own devices.
When you choose a great agent, he delivers facts and opinions for you to use to make the right decision on the spot – that is real guidance.
This is where consumers need the real help, but the industry fails miserably because when you need us most, we’re not there. We don’t insist on having top-quality help in place at crunch time.
It hasn’t mattered in the full-blown frenzy – buyers just pay the price or higher, and everyone is happy. You don’t need much help then.
But now that sales are receding, and more homes are lying around not selling, real help is needed to figure out what to do.
Sellers are always prone to add a little mustard to their price, and without proper guidance on when to accept a lower offer or when to reduce their price, they can miss the selling window and chase the market down. Buyers can pay too much and regret it later, or not enough and miss out on a good match.
Get Good Help!
It’s asking a lot, but what we really need is transparency.
We are at the fork-in-the-road where agents and consumers alike want and need to choose between the traditional model of selling homes or one of the newfangled disrupter ways.
But the services being offered are blurry. The disrupters call themselves realtors and say they provide the same full service. Big teams say because they’ve sold so many homes that their way is the best. Individual agents get caught in the middle somewhere.
If every agent described exactly what they do to earn their fee, then at least the consumers might be able to compare apples to apples.
Every agent has their 100-point marketing plan, a fabulous support team, and is in the Top 1%. Let’s go beyond those basics.
To make it easier for consumers, let’s boil it down to the most important part of the equation – what is the one critical question to ask an agent?
‘Who and where are you at the point of sale?’
The frenzy has simmered down, and we’re back to the regular hand-to-hand real estate combat in the streets. This is when buyers and sellers need real and effective guidance on when to make the deal.
If you choose a discounter, inexperienced agent, or get stuck with an assistant, you will get a tepid response. Their lack of experience in guiding you to make the right decision when everything is on the line will cause them to be conservative, and not commit. You will be left to your own devices.
When you choose a great agent, he delivers facts and opinions for you to use to make the right decision on the spot – that is real guidance.
This is where consumers need the real help, but the industry fails miserably because when you need us most, we’re not there. We don’t insist on having top-quality help in place at crunch time.
It hasn’t mattered in the full-blown frenzy – buyers just pay the price or higher, and everyone is happy. You don’t need much help then.
But now that sales are receding, and more homes are lying around not selling, real help is needed to figure out what to do.
Sellers are always prone to add a little mustard to their price, and without proper guidance on when to accept a lower offer or when to reduce their price, they can miss the selling window and chase the market down. Buyers can pay too much and regret it later, or not enough and miss out on a good match.
Get Good Help!
