I actually wrote this to submit to the Inman contest to get a couple of free passes to Connect in NY. But, I determined that I wasn't going to be able to go even with free passes, so I decided not to submit the essay... but I figured I would toss out the essay for comment. And NO, I didn't assume that the essay would be good enough... I just couldn't take that chance. ;^ )
For many years, real estate agents were the guardians of information. We had it, and we didn’t want to allow consumers to uncover too much of it. We made the process mysterious and exotic, and tried to cultivate what was our greatest asset… listing information. We had a lock on listing information and by holding that information tightly, we could control consumers. (by "we" and "us", I mean "the industry")
If a buyer wanted to know what was available, they had to go through us. If a seller wanted to know what had been paid for other properties, they had to go through us. We were also the gatekeeper. The only way into the MLS was through a traditional agent. If a property was to be listed in the MLS, it was going to be through a traditional agent.
Now the opposite is where we can find our value proposition. Information is plentiful… interpretation is the valuable commodity. Knowing that there are 300 listings that may or may not meet the needs of the buyer is important, but knowing which 12 they should look at first is valuable. Knowing the price of every home that sold in the subdivision in the last three years is important, but knowing which houses are comparable, and HOW they compare is valuable. The MLS is within reach of those without a functional agent in many areas. Through unbundled or minimum service brokerages, even those that are basically FSBO are still able to get their home in the MLS. Being able to put a listing in the MLS for a seller is important, but knowing how to most effectively and efficiently market a property is valuable.
The value proposition of real estate agents is and will be shifting from that of a controller of information to an interpreter of information, and from being the gateway to the MLS to being a marketing consultant and resource. Access to information is easy, it is plentiful.
As I look at market reports, I see too many that are just an activity list. That doesn't mean anything... unless there is a frame of reference. Knowing that there were 25 properties sold in Lilburn in November doesn't say much... Were there more or less sold the previous year... or month?
As we move into the future, information will become even more plentiful. As that happens, there will be more of a need to interpret and vet that information. The future for real estate agents is to be the local expert and marketing expert. Oddly, this isn’t new. It is what the best agents have always done.
