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Monday, April 20, 2015

What Is The Future Of The Traditional Real Estate Brokerage?

By Ernesto Berturand


There have been a number of articles discussing the future of traditional real estate brokerages. Predictions that the next few years may mark the end of an era of real estate brokerage as we know it today. Dramatic transformation of the industry is unavoidable due to the proliferation of large real estate portals, fee for service type brokerage companies, revolutionizing Internet technologies, and the restructuring and liberation of multiple listing service data.

What has resulted is two things: continuing consolidation into larger and larger real estate brokerage companies that control multiple segments including mortgage origination and relocation or a new paradigm real estate model that supports buyer representation, agent employed, technology driven fee for service. The impact of this plus the push to change the traditional role of the agent as only a transactional middleman, places a downward pressure on commissions.

To provide a wide array of real estate contract support prior to, during the course of as well as after the house acquisition, brokers must change their approach in order to bolster declining real estate profits. Real estate services have extended into residence finance loan, title services, insurance coverage, residential warranty and home repair work type professional services.

A new form of real estate industry has manifested in response to communication technology advancements online. The public comes armed with more detailed information obtainable through the use of nation wide real estate portals which include Zillow and Trulia and starts a home investigation well before communicating with a real estate agent. These web sites make a lot more real estate data available but have introduced a middle man in between agents and clients. As a result a great deal more money is allocated to merchandising properties targeting consumers. The "preferred agent" on many of these web sites is not the most qualified realtor but instead is the individual who paid the greatest amount of money to be at the top. The portals' published information is typically less reliable, out of date and somewhat less wide-ranging than that of local agents.

Realtors can no longer just place a for sale sign in a yard and a classified newspaper ad to succeed. Real estate agents have to possess multiple skills and be seen as industry experts within their specialized niche to be successful. The field of real estate has been fairly easy to enter in the past with few requirements, allows people to be their own boss and have to potential to earn a lot of money. To successfully pass a test to gain a license required only basic knowledge and then agents are responsible for their own additional education.

Nowadays, new agents face more stringent education requirements, continuing education and years of transaction experience to advance. The mindset of the traditional agent, fueled by competition and the attitude of putting their commission before the needs of the client, has ultimately been the undoing. Agents must now provide the highest level of service to everyone by becoming a master of technology and expert advisor rather than behave as a traditional agent who guards their best secrets and fears the competition. Real estate agents who are committed to the success of others around them will find more success. They will need to understand a variety of things in addition to real estate, such as marketing, people, sales, negotiation, and finance.

To be most effective real estate agents will stand out as client oriented professionals who are able to master multiple facets of the real estate industry while conveying superior guidance to consumers and coworkers. By strengthening trustworthiness and cultivating clientele to welcome their recommendations, realtors are able to command authority and provide authentic assistance and advice with predictable results.

To avoid obsolescence an agent must be able to transform themselves. There was no internet when the idea of the brokerage came into being. Brokers very much restricted the dissemination of real estate information ensuring that there were few ways to learn about a property without their help. Means of marketing a property were limited too. The job of the real estate professional must now depend upon whatever skills can be offered that a customer can't presently achieve over the internet. This approach points to collecting, organizing and conveying facts and information rather than simply using the same material which everyone else delivers. The goal should be to be completely reputable by adhering to consistent principles. Agents should develop a personification that substantially helps customers and prospects.

Brick and mortar brokerages which have sponsored and supported independent agents will be most impacted by the changes materializing within real estate. The vast majority of us need and want the beneficial customer service that agents provide. The traditional broker structure steers toward getting an increasing number of agents that frequently are incompetent when it comes to client care, ethics and sales and consequently lowers the overall delivery of quality service. Very often the brokerage gets an even bigger commission split produced by poor achieving sales agents, producing a reputation crisis for the entire brokerage. Higher producing real estate agents receive a bigger commission rate cut mainly because they deliver the most return which implies there's diminishing valuation of the real estate broker.

The only way to cultivate consumer respect in a sector where the general public has an abundance of information and facts is to change the way business is conducted. The opportunity for the revolutionary brokerage firm really should be to collect data for their customers, analyze and interpret comparables, and dispensing critical information with prospective buyers, home sellers and property investors. Brokers can adopt the same technique to boost their agent relationships by making appropriate software selections and solutions. As a added value to their agents, brokerages must provide the service of continually analyzing technological innovation and helping to make choices for the realtors.

A small brokerage firm is now able to work effectively with significantly fewer employees to manage everyday business tasks as a result of huge advances in computer systems and technology. Brokerages are able to deliver full value to a group of sales agents through cooperation as an effective technique for addressing business crisis. Delivery of high levels of customer care along with coaching agents on a shared software platform promotes top-quality capabilities amongst agents due to the supportive office environment. The simpler, more enduring delivery of quality services for the client is just one of the many advantages of teamwork within a brokerage. Another advantage certainly is the greater sense of inclusion which can minimize agent turnover. Agents working together cooperatively promotes specialization and skillset expertise amongst the team. The professional team strategy is superior in enabling an individual's successes.

Consumers seeking a significantly better real estate encounter demand trust and transparency. Skillfulness, swiftness and individual service are really crucial with regard to assisting the educated prospect. Sales agents must completely grasp local area markets, be able to share that data with prospects through their the method of communication that they prefer such as email, phone, text, social websites, etc. Because most consumers have a problem trusting realtors, they actually prefer to spend long hours exploring the big portals such as Realtor.com and Zillow. Customers are insisting on increased transparency at each and every point of the purchasing process. Nonetheless when someone is in a position to buy, they want an immediate reaction from a realtor. Clients are also reliant upon their Facebook family and friends and online testimonials to locate a real estate agent. If agents utilize social media it is important to build trust, provide guidance and avoid becoming to sales oriented. Real estate agents are still essential to the consumer for help going thru facts, arbitrating the contract and then guidance through the real estate transaction.

Brokerages that take on more oversight of sales agent training, software and service performance realize an effective way to develop a strong customer identity. Typically the brokerage will have to generate web site traffic in an effort to generate substantial qualified leads and brainstorm new ways to demonstrate value to their agents. By the brokerage creating a strong web presence, generating online videos and interfacing with the client, the agents are able to concentrate on providing outstanding assistance to the customer. The proliferation of mobile, social media and digital technologies unveils a totally new world of resources that results in the public being substantially less reliant on realtors, brokers and Multiple listing service solutions to obtain knowledge. Undoubtedly the true value that a realtor provides is to present insightful issues, answer questions and be a source of knowledge. This is a unique value that real estate agents provide. Agents and brokerage services that want to dominate the industry will be those willing to streamline all facets of the business.

The ActiveLife Realty Team has adopted this type of real estate brokerage style of business and places focus on outstanding assistance to consumers. By encouraging a community of co-operation and collaboration between team associates, the real estate brokerage encourages agents who band together to safeguard the most effective real estate experience for customers and prospects. Whenever the team personnel are happy, are not at odds and self-assured in their talents, this contentedness is undoubtedly conveyed to the customer in the form of better service.

With the guidance and supervision from Broker, Alice Gardiner, the boutique real estate brokerage was started in 2009 as Gardiner Real Estate. Accompanied the same year by Sandy Hanner, the brokerage firm was established upon a strict standard of ethics, tightly held values and championing the rights of every single client. The primary business scope was focused on the specialized niche of Sun City Texas simply because of the lengthy work experience with the builder by the founders. With a combined career background with Pulte of over 25 years, familiarity with every facet of newly built as well as resale houses in Sun City Texas serves as a beneficial body of knowledge available to each customer of the real estate brokerage.

The brokerage firm was renamed Sun City Realty in the year 2011 as a way to define the niche market in which the brokerage firm primarily worked. Later in 2013, it became obvious that the housing market had improved and the active adult market would certainly be growing in the region as other builders positioned themselves to take advantage of retiring baby boomers. Sun City Realty subsequently became the ActiveLife Realty Team and recruited 2 additional realtors to assist clients. Then in late 2014, the general contractor of Sun City Texas reported the growth of the development with the purchase of an adjoining 1500 acre tract of land. In a strategic move, the ActiveLife Realty Team has widened their business sector to specialize in active adult and master-planned subdivisions in the area.

Now the ActiveLife Realty Team has developed technologies to manage clients, transactions and marketing, provides training and support to agents, overseas and maintains the quality of transaction management, and nurtures a team approach to every aspect of customer service. The brokerage has implemented many of the changes that provide more value to clients and only works with buyers. Having always been focused on delivering quality lead-generation to agents, the ActiveLife Realty Team has built a website that provides so much information to consumers that by the time they respond to calls to action to subscribe to the newsletter or get a free "Buyers Guide", they are already qualified leads that have found a trustworthy and transparent source for their real estate needs. The fact that the ActiveLife Realty Team of agents are only buyers agents and the website educates consumers in regards to the distinct advantages to having unbiased representation in real estate dealings, solidifies that trust. The ActiveLife Realty Team is the future of real estate for a more consumer oriented business model.




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