Commercial PropertyThe Evolution Of The Real Estate Consumer: Part II
This is a continuation of a previous article. For Part I, click here.
Secret Decoder Ring
For example, they state that "fantastic" and "charming" is real estate agent code for the house doesn"t have any specific attributes worth describing. "Great neighborhood" signals buyers that, well, this house isn"t very nice but others nearby may be. An exclamation point in a real estate ad is bad news for sure -- a bid to paper over shortcomings with false enthusiasm.
The title of Chapter 2, "How Is The Klu Klux Klan Like A Bunch Of Real Estate Agents?" pushed my buttons enough to start a running diatribe with the authors. It also fueled the Independent fury of the consumer. And, furthered their disdain for ego ads, ego websites, and ego marketing and sales pitches of any kind -- like how many millions agents have sold.
Pulled in by the hype and the fact that it related to their job, real estate agents, brokers, and wanna be"s were glued to the same TV shows and read the same books. "Ah ha", they cried, "they really don"t need us" and "Ta Da," the surge of discount real estate companies! Yup, offices, real and virtual, opened en mass to feed the greed of the independent consumer. Three percent, two percent, one! And, still the independent consumer wouldn"t bite.
Who Was That Masked Man?
Real estate consumer awareness and consciousness had never been higher or more Independent. Lending institutions saw the light and ran to fulfill the demand for the American Dream of home ownership. With a multi-year history of rising home prices, lending institutions hired anyone who could fill out a form, rushed them through school, and "Out of the west with a cloud of dust and the hearty Hi Ho Silver, the Loan Arranger!"
They flooded the market with easily bundled and sold SUB-PRIME loans! After all, they are called sub-prime for a reason! Anyone could get a loan on real estate. "Yea," cried the market! And EVERYONE bought -- Dependents, Independents, and even a few real estate agents.
Bubble Bubble Toil And Trouble
When the housing market cooled in early "05, the naysayers were quick to blame everything -- the Internet, over-inflated prices (true in many areas), sub-prime lending (again true), aggressive lending practices (true), and, Al Gore and global warming. I blame the naysayers and the real estate industry"s inability to respond quickly to the consumer need for independence.
Why blame the naysayers? It"s simple, 70 percent of the people who hold licenses make less than $1,000 a month. "Does that include part-time?" In my humble opinion, there is no such thing as part-time agents; there are productive and non-productive. I think most will agree with me that at $1,000 per month, 70 percent of the people in real estate are failing in business. People who fail in business almost never accept that it"s their fault. Therefore, when the bump appeared in the market, they roared their discontent. Add this to predatory lending practices and you get what we got.
It"s a rhetorical question but who does the media listen too? The loudest voice -- and, when that voice says, "Oh, the market"s down. Listings aren"t selling. I can"t find buyers. I"m starving. Sellers are in trouble." The media quickly jumps in. Agreed, there are struggling areas of the country, but more areas are holding their own. And it"s business as usual. After all, it"s called the market not the sure thing! The market is ALWAYS up and down. However, negative media generates consumer reluctance. And that, too, is normal. Remind you of King John?
Acceptance Of Consumer Independence
Real estate professionals slowly learned that when suspect buyers or sellers land on their web site, they don"t want to jump through hoops, they don"t want to fill out forms, they don"t want to disclose what they are looking for, who they are, or how much they earn. They want to see HOUSES and they want to see them NOW! If a real estate web site doesn"t give them what they want, they leave and never come back.
Companies and associates that didn"t understand this, and some still don"t, lost valuable market share. Still relying on brand loyalty, many dinosaur companies lumber about claiming that the Internet will be the downfall of the real estate industry like it was to the travel industry. To this I say, "STOP IT!"
Real Estate Information Is Everywhere
Look at REALTOR.com, Zillow.com, Google.com/Base, Trulia.com, and others that provide real estate information on every city, village, and town at the click of the mouse. These companies don"t want to be in the real estate business like the real estate community feared. They are in the information business, a model whose revenue is based solely on ad sales. In an open forum with Saul Klein at last year"s NAR convention, Rich Barton, Chairman and CEO of Zillow and Justin McCarthy of Google said they want to be the real estate information source for the real estate industry and the consumer. Why not! It"s not the agent"s job anymore.
According to a recent California survey, 86 percent of buyers use the Internet as part of the real estate purchasing process even before they start looking for specific homes. And 100 percent said they started looking at houses first, agents second.
"Second" is good news. At least they are looking with agents. Here is what is happening -- with ALL the information available to ALL the consumers, the FED"s clamping down on mortgage lenders predatory practices, negative media, consumer reluctance, and non-productive agents falling out of the business like flies, those remaining are banding together in Interdependence.
A New Dawn Of Consumer Interdependence
Real estate finally caught up with what"s happening on the Internet. Face Book, My Space, RealTalk, ePROTalk, and Personal Blogs, People; i.e., consumers, gathering together in a "Community", a "Social Network of Knowledge" -- an open sharing of information, available for discussion, and input of others. Wow, did we just meet at Runny Mead for a beer?
Look Out Meteorologists -- It"s Time For The Realoligist
No more coveting information and knowledge -- a transparent real estate market! I want to have a morning show on television that gives daily real estate market updates. Imagine me with a big map of the US showing population gains and losses -- area by area, city by city, housing prices, what"s selling and what"s not, and what"s in demand. The number of homes sold, newly listed, average days on market, and market absorption rate.
Talk about a social network of knowledge, it"s Interdependence to the fullest. Each morning, we highlight a different city. Divide the city into sections, like most cities are already, and give the same information we have been giving for areas of the country. Add another feature on employment figures, specialty job markets, and cost of living indexes -- wow, what a show. A real reality show, I guess I"ll call Trump.
Gifts From The Evolved Consumer
Let"s look at the bottom line of this Consumer Evolution. A huge percentage of the population of America has the dream of Home Ownership. Because of this Evolution, real estate is now more accessible to more people. This free market, built around a social network of knowledge, will make buying, selling, speculating, leasing, renting, and developing real estate easier than ever. And, no one person or industry will hold the keys to the kingdom. Productive real estate associates will get out of the information booth and step up in stature to that of real estate advisor, and consultant.
The numbers of non-productive real estate associates will dwindle as offices become smaller and brokers refuse to support them with desk space. Every time the market staggers, the industry loses a great number of non-producers and those who just age out. But this time will be different; smart connected agents will take their place, polish the profession, and prosper.
The Evolved Consumer knows the value of the real estate professional. Yes, they have the information, but they don"t have the time and knowledge to put the transaction together. Their demands are strong. They want fast response -- e-mail isn"t fast enough -- text messaging is. Your smart phone is the office of the connected agent who can be and live anywhere. What once was a 24/7 profession is now more like a 4/7. The time agents save with virtual transactions, text messaging, and fewer showings pays off BIG.
Dependence, Independence, Interdependence
It"s not a Fad for a fad is revolutionary. It"s a TREND which is EVOLUTIONARY! Viva the Evolution, where smart hard working people pool their knowledge and information for the betterment of all.
(Rossi, Certified e-PRO Trainer, ROSSI Speaks, inc. Edutainer, Humorist, Coach, & Bon Vivant, and author of Dog Eat Dog & Vice Versa: 9 Secrets To Put the Bite Into Your Marketing.)