As a real estate agent in a turning market, what do you need to know to put your success first?
This was the topic Joe Rand, managing partner and general counsel with Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate, and Katie Kossev, managing broker with Intero Real Estate, delved into onstage at Inman Connect New York on Tuesday.
Joe Rand
1. Brokers embrace distinct technology as a core service offering to agents
What Brad Inman has dubbed the “platform wars” is showing up in the big national brokerages across the country. Keep your eyes peeled for what brokerages will offer agents to give them the leg up on the competition next.
2. Lending standards will continue to ease
You’ll likely see potential buyers who had been turned away previously get approved and become homeowners.
3. Search as a commodity
A lot of websites strived to have search, and now many broker sites are doing away with it.
4. Industry focus on improving the transaction
This seems like a no-brainer that everyone should be doing always, but it’s good to see more and more brokers and agents trying to improve the transaction with lenders, escrow officers and the like, Rand said.
5. The rise of short-term rentals
Kossev shared how more and more investors are looking to get into the Airbnb, short-term rental game. Rand says there’s an interesting opportunity for agents who are helping investors find single-family homes for short-term rentals.
6. Consumers using performance analytics
Consumers are looking to find top agents, and performance analytics are the key. The idea that clients are choosing agents based on their performance — “I think that’s good for everybody,” Rand said.
7. The minimalist lifestyle gains popularity
Gone are the days when kids are trying to do just a little better than their parents did. Millennials just want a manageable space where they can have the things that “spark joy” around them.
8. Predictive analytics used in business
Lots of companies are out there trying to help agents know when people in their sphere are getting ready to move. Rand joked that it’s not so that you can call and say, “I hear you’re thinking about moving.”
Rather, you should start connecting with those potential buyers and “catch up.”
9. Diversified content offerings
What content are you providing to people? There’s been an explosion of automated valuation models (AVMs) out there, and those are a prime example of diversified content.
“It’s time to jump on board with that,” Kossev said.
Also think hyper-local content.
10. Great customer service takes on an entirely new meaning
As agents compete for business, everyone is trying to figure out how to bring customers next-level service.
“How do we expand our conception of what we can do for our clients?” Rand asked. “Don’t just fall back on the same services you’ve been offering for years.”
Kossev suggested, Why not become your clients’ wealth managers?
Rand cited how agents used to offer CMAs (comparative market analyses), which was really just an offer to hear their listing presentations, and then Zillow came along with Zestimates and built an entire business model off of something agents weren’t doing for clients yet.
Look for those voids. Expand beyond real estate.
