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The antique lamp above my desk depicts a brave figure holding a globe and riding a turtle.
This image reminds me of the “good” people in the real estate industry. They are the ones who are sneaking around behind the scenes of a slow-moving housing market, with great care and carrying the burden of many others.
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I don’t know if my analogy works, but I do know that this year was a rock bottom year for the real estate industry.
As the housing market froze, structural changes of epic proportions upended business.
Regulators, lawsuits, mainstream media scrutiny, industry complacency, and a lack of leadership and transparency destroyed a 120-year-old business and rebuilt a valuable but troubled profession.
Industry arrogance, corruption and denial
There were weekly headlines about industry-wide sexual harassment, NAR corruption, creepy high-level agent shenanigans, leadership failures, and more. Lawsuit after lawsuit was filed and settled, with companies paying billions of dollars.
collective shame.
The housing market was trapped like a stubborn oyster that could not be opened.
Tired.
I remember when I was infected with the new coronavirus. For the first time in my life, I experienced difficulty breathing. I didn’t feel like I was out of breath. As I took my last breath, I felt like my life was in danger.
This year, the real estate industry has been holding its breath.
What’s next?
Consumers win. Transparency goes beyond self-interest.
The worst parts of the industry are being eradicated: poor business practices, unethical leadership, and an opaque process for buying and selling homes.
Internal myths can no longer mask fundamental issues and impede change. For the industry’s exploiters, the honeypot is becoming empty.
The real estate industry must now redefine who it is.
Whether it’s the National Association of Realtors, a sycophantic consultant, a self-righteous expert, or a lukewarm corporate CEO (with the exception of Gary Keller, Sue Yanacone, Glenn Kelman, James Dwiggins, and Robert Refkin). do not have.
They all rely on a grassroots sales machine serviced by 200,000 independent agents. Some experts promote home sales for about 3 million people or more, not 1 million people. The group, along with brokers, directly or indirectly pays most of the industry’s bills, including Inman News subscription fees.
A new generation of leaders with different values
They are not confrontational, selfish, or mean, and they speak out with grit and enthusiasm.
At CEO Connect in New York earlier this year, a group of young leaders took to the microphone during a discussion about the industry’s woes and openly criticized tenured leadership.
That would never have happened in the past, silenced by industry political correctness. Many of them crouched down like bullied children or were often covered with duct tape by their lawyers.
The French poet and playwright Molière said: “We are responsible not only for what we do, but also for what we don’t do.”
Shout out to the longtime reformers who have criticized the system for decades.
Of course, everyone is a reformer. Karl Marx wrote that the petty bourgeoisie is the first to take part in a revolution.
change the way you do business
Rather than tiptoeing around, the best brokers and real estate agents are already building innovation into their businesses, putting transparency at the core of their services, from fee structures to honest and thorough disclosure.
This is not a new strategy, but it is now a must-have strategy for everyone.
Shady real estate agents have been in this industry for a long time. Many will go out of business because the sun is shining on them now.
A tough market is also a roto router to clear out spoilage.
What’s next? Accountability. A “new” industry will emerge in which agents and intermediaries are responsible for each other. Silence will not be accepted.
A good agent won’t have to carry the weight of an agent who doesn’t care about the business, its reputation, or its practices.
As industries reform and become more transparent, consumer trust increases and sales increase.
Email Brad Inman
