I love this perspective and the one piece that I would add is that NAR needs as many hobbyist and nonprofessionals as possible to continue the dues flowing in. There is absolutely nothing that incentivizes them whatsoever to thin the herd and focus on professionalism. The biggest victory they have is that the requirement for agents to pay them dues to access the MLS is still very much alive and kicking. Left to their own without the mandatory tithing they would fail. Until that changes there is absolutely no possible way to thin the herd. Agents need to unite against that and put pressure on their brokerages and local boards for change.
::FACTS:: The state of Massachusetts requires 10 times more training to obtain a license for offering a mens fade, than it does to become a Real Estate Salesperson. Mastering a Wahl - what every 13 year old I knew could do, 10X☑️
1. I agree with you. Past time to thin the herd. I have said for many years, Day 1 of pre-license classes/ training should be The Reality of Real Estate 101. Here is what you think you are getting into in this profession and this is the reality, and the stats behind it.
2. I am deeply disappointed with NAR for multiple reasons. At a minimum, if they are going to throw everyone else under the bus at least give the media proper talking points laid out in advance so they have a general idea of how to respond.
3. I just have an issue with the media in general. That their headlines don't line up with the reality of the settlement are not surprising.
Rob - I agree. This is a huge missed opportunity to the industry and the NAR. Regardless we need to step up as leaders and set the industry on a path for success. Success not only for our members but for the consumer. I helped draft the Danger Report, much of the predictions in that report have come full circle. Same on us for not taking action! We can square this up, we need to directly engage with the consumer and be transparent, we need a new business model for the MLS's and the associations, the associations need a new purpose - one their members actually care about. None of this will happen without taking action to clean house.
I got in trouble for stating this fact at a local REALTOR Association meeting one morning:
"The National Association of Realtors (NAR) found that 75% of Realtors fail within the first year of being in the industry and 87% after five years."
Why? Because real estate schools and REALTOR Associations make a living promoting the idea that you can make great money if you get a real estate license.
I don't blame people for trying, particularly if they have no marketable job skills. I just hate to see them waste $1,000s of dollars on REALTOR Association and MLS fees.
Agree with most of your take, but I have to add that all the cream isn't necessarily at the top. I'd bet the "best" agents are probably in the middle of the pack; hard workers doing their best to move up. There's bad apples in all parts of the tree. It's hard to blame just the green ones. IMHO, the blame for the high population of Realtors is the fact, as you point out, in the massive reward for participating. Thanks, Brian
eXp seems to have a good handle on moving forward with this settlement and is encouraging its agents to start making the changes effective immediately. Two thing that are still an issue for us, and where there is disagreement, is that the broker in NJ told us yesterday that we HAVE to split our commission 50/50 in a dual agency situation. You can imagine the buyer agents were pleased but the listing agents were not. Some listing agents voiced the idea of leaving the brokerage. Then, it changed to...'so long as the listing agent includes in the listing agree a variable fee to compensate the buyer agent in dual agency'. Which makes no sense because in my opinion this is a worse situation than the litigation was attempting to fix. Dual agency = limited representation. How is that in the sellers best interest? Today there is talk about Designated representation. The broker represents both the seller and the buyer but the agents are designated to full representation on their respective sides, The second issue is about Open Houses. I don't think our broker gave us an adequate response on how to handle those. The settlement specifies that you need to have a Buyer agency agreement BEFORE you show any homes. The broker told us to just make sure we have them sign the CIS form. I'm curious how other brokers plan to handle open houses as I'm certain best practices will develop in time.
The structure of the MLS has been, as Rob calls it, a CRUTCH for the incompetent and unprofessional agent to earn the same commission as the experienced provider of professional services. While I was disappointed with the settlement agreement and have doubts whether the DOJ will intervene/approve it, I see some hope now that the buyer agent should present a value proposition in "negotiating" the anticipated commission amount and method of payment. The buyer broker needs a unbiased-written Buyer Representation Agreement (BRA) signed by the buyer in order to tour the listed property.
I am disappointed because there are so many obvious loopholes, nothing changes and we are going to be going through similar issues in another 10-15 years. Mandatory buyer representation agreements are the biggest issue we have. We have seen this play out elsewhere and it is just another way to lock in buyer comp and limit choices. This isn't over, the DOJ hasn't weighed in yet and I am holding out hope. The irony is, that fighting for the status quo and trying to keep commissions high is what attracts so many agents and ultimately costs full-time professional agents. Get rid of the guaranteed lottery tickets and people will quit playing.
And this is why NAR is such an utter failure. They survive on relatively low cost subscription service and because of this they lost focus on who really matters and that’s the consumer without whom none of this conversation matters. The NAR settlement is all about the hacks keeping their jobs.
I haven't seen it, maybe I've missed it. But I've only seen mis-informed, poorly thought out, one hot take after another devoid of any critical thinking. Has anyone seen one absolute real estate ninja, high producing, owns their city, active, I mean a real mf'ng G realtor chime in with a take? I've only seen one mid realtor take after another....plenty of industry and content experts with some great insights. Just some thoughts....
I love this perspective and the one piece that I would add is that NAR needs as many hobbyist and nonprofessionals as possible to continue the dues flowing in. There is absolutely nothing that incentivizes them whatsoever to thin the herd and focus on professionalism. The biggest victory they have is that the requirement for agents to pay them dues to access the MLS is still very much alive and kicking. Left to their own without the mandatory tithing they would fail. Until that changes there is absolutely no possible way to thin the herd. Agents need to unite against that and put pressure on their brokerages and local boards for change.
::FACTS:: The state of Massachusetts requires 10 times more training to obtain a license for offering a mens fade, than it does to become a Real Estate Salesperson. Mastering a Wahl - what every 13 year old I knew could do, 10X☑️
Thanks for your thoughts Rob.
To keep this short I will say;
1. I agree with you. Past time to thin the herd. I have said for many years, Day 1 of pre-license classes/ training should be The Reality of Real Estate 101. Here is what you think you are getting into in this profession and this is the reality, and the stats behind it.
2. I am deeply disappointed with NAR for multiple reasons. At a minimum, if they are going to throw everyone else under the bus at least give the media proper talking points laid out in advance so they have a general idea of how to respond.
3. I just have an issue with the media in general. That their headlines don't line up with the reality of the settlement are not surprising.
4. Nice 'Wire' reference too...
Rob - I agree. This is a huge missed opportunity to the industry and the NAR. Regardless we need to step up as leaders and set the industry on a path for success. Success not only for our members but for the consumer. I helped draft the Danger Report, much of the predictions in that report have come full circle. Same on us for not taking action! We can square this up, we need to directly engage with the consumer and be transparent, we need a new business model for the MLS's and the associations, the associations need a new purpose - one their members actually care about. None of this will happen without taking action to clean house.
I got in trouble for stating this fact at a local REALTOR Association meeting one morning:
"The National Association of Realtors (NAR) found that 75% of Realtors fail within the first year of being in the industry and 87% after five years."
Why? Because real estate schools and REALTOR Associations make a living promoting the idea that you can make great money if you get a real estate license.
I don't blame people for trying, particularly if they have no marketable job skills. I just hate to see them waste $1,000s of dollars on REALTOR Association and MLS fees.
ROB,
Agree with most of your take, but I have to add that all the cream isn't necessarily at the top. I'd bet the "best" agents are probably in the middle of the pack; hard workers doing their best to move up. There's bad apples in all parts of the tree. It's hard to blame just the green ones. IMHO, the blame for the high population of Realtors is the fact, as you point out, in the massive reward for participating. Thanks, Brian
eXp seems to have a good handle on moving forward with this settlement and is encouraging its agents to start making the changes effective immediately. Two thing that are still an issue for us, and where there is disagreement, is that the broker in NJ told us yesterday that we HAVE to split our commission 50/50 in a dual agency situation. You can imagine the buyer agents were pleased but the listing agents were not. Some listing agents voiced the idea of leaving the brokerage. Then, it changed to...'so long as the listing agent includes in the listing agree a variable fee to compensate the buyer agent in dual agency'. Which makes no sense because in my opinion this is a worse situation than the litigation was attempting to fix. Dual agency = limited representation. How is that in the sellers best interest? Today there is talk about Designated representation. The broker represents both the seller and the buyer but the agents are designated to full representation on their respective sides, The second issue is about Open Houses. I don't think our broker gave us an adequate response on how to handle those. The settlement specifies that you need to have a Buyer agency agreement BEFORE you show any homes. The broker told us to just make sure we have them sign the CIS form. I'm curious how other brokers plan to handle open houses as I'm certain best practices will develop in time.
The structure of the MLS has been, as Rob calls it, a CRUTCH for the incompetent and unprofessional agent to earn the same commission as the experienced provider of professional services. While I was disappointed with the settlement agreement and have doubts whether the DOJ will intervene/approve it, I see some hope now that the buyer agent should present a value proposition in "negotiating" the anticipated commission amount and method of payment. The buyer broker needs a unbiased-written Buyer Representation Agreement (BRA) signed by the buyer in order to tour the listed property.
I am disappointed because there are so many obvious loopholes, nothing changes and we are going to be going through similar issues in another 10-15 years. Mandatory buyer representation agreements are the biggest issue we have. We have seen this play out elsewhere and it is just another way to lock in buyer comp and limit choices. This isn't over, the DOJ hasn't weighed in yet and I am holding out hope. The irony is, that fighting for the status quo and trying to keep commissions high is what attracts so many agents and ultimately costs full-time professional agents. Get rid of the guaranteed lottery tickets and people will quit playing.
Completely agree that the path to a license needs to be much more difficult.
Agreed.
I agree the small Realtor mls is the big winner from the settlement
And this is why NAR is such an utter failure. They survive on relatively low cost subscription service and because of this they lost focus on who really matters and that’s the consumer without whom none of this conversation matters. The NAR settlement is all about the hacks keeping their jobs.
I haven't seen it, maybe I've missed it. But I've only seen mis-informed, poorly thought out, one hot take after another devoid of any critical thinking. Has anyone seen one absolute real estate ninja, high producing, owns their city, active, I mean a real mf'ng G realtor chime in with a take? I've only seen one mid realtor take after another....plenty of industry and content experts with some great insights. Just some thoughts....