One thing that has really improved in this industry is technology–technology used to be your CRM now its the ability to send targeted ads to age groups, specific geography or category.
One thing that is going to get better and better is predictive analytics. All kinds of companies are developing new predictive models. If companies better predict buying or selling behavior we can get in front of the seller sooner.
Its going to be a while before these things really get sorted out so Im not worried about this in the short term. I do see a few threats on the horizon and some of these you probably should be aware of.
First–are you familiar with the lawsuit between redfin and the DOJ? Redfin was suing for more transparency around buyer broker commissions. Redfin wants to fundamentally remove the ability for buyers agents to work for a buyer and get paid by the seller. They want buyers to pay their agents directly. That means that when you take on a new buyer you will have to negotiate your own buyers agent fee upfront. No more will you help a buyer find a house and get paid by the seller at closings.
While this sort of transparency is always good it will undoubtedly effect commissions in many markets. Here in San Diego where the average price is 850,000 dollars a buy side commission is roughly 25,000 dollars. I think a lot of buyers are going to experience sticker shock. We will have to see what this ends up looking like over the next 18 months but, I think this is a call to action whereby agents particularly ones focusing on buyers that they up their game. You going to have to up your game and really get clear on what value you add to a transaction.
I might do an episode on that—-hit me on twitter if that sounds interesting my handle is @superagentslive
