First off, let me start by saying this is going to be a long blog because, it’s a topic I am sure is going to cause many feathers to ruffle but, I think this question should be asked because, I strongly believe we are in the beginning of a technological revolution that will dramatically and catastrophically change the face of the real estate industry and more importantly, the human face of the industry….specifically Realtors.

Let’s start with what we all know about licensed agents and for that matter, Realtors. Getting into Realestate and becoming a licensed agent isn’t that hard. In fact, the requirements to be a licensed agent are different from State to State but, for the most part, our industry and lobbying group NAR (National Association of Realtors) has done a good job at ensuring licensing requirements aren’t as stringent as other professions. The reason behind this is because, like any “unionisque” type of organization…which NAR is, they only make money on dues paid by their members so, what is their number one goal….to grow membership of course. You can’t grow membership if you limit the number of potential members by strict or hard to obtain licensing requirements. That is why becoming a Realtor is much less difficult that say, becoming a barber or stylist.

Secondly, turnover is high, very high. I believe I saw a statistic back in 2008….maybe 2007 that said during the height of the real estate bubble, before the collapse, over 90% of licensed agents dropped out of the industry after 6 months because, they weren’t able to make a living. I also seem to remember a NAR statistic a couple years ago that said the average salary for a Realtor was $28,000.00 a year…..that just a little better than minimum wage which in my state makes you between $22,000 - $24,000.00 a year. Let’s not forget that NAR isn’t the only expense agents have. For most of us, we pay for our own website, we pay for our business cards, signs, riders, office fees, splits, car note, gas, and marketing…etc…. so, even though you may be making $28,000.00 a year, I seriously doubt that’s all net profit to the bottom line. When I look back at my real estate career, my first year…I was not profitable and I didn’t net anything near $22,000.00. So, just on the economics alone, being a licensed agent is expensive and the pay sucks!

Finally, competition is fierce and new agents suffer the worse in most market places. We all know buying or selling a home is the largest financial investment most people make and as such, no one in their “right” mind wants to use a agent that just got their license 6 months ago and has never listed a home and only worked with two buyers. If you are an honest agent and have this kind of conversation with a potential seller, I am sure you will be shown the door. Ok…sure, most seller’s don’t interview more than 1 agent anyways….we have all see the statistics from NAR that tells us something like 80% of homeowners simply pick an agent they already know or are recommended to them but, that doesn’t make competition any less fierce. You see, that means you as an agent have got to be spending a crap load of money on marketing yourself and networking….which most new agent don’t have that kind of money and aren’t seeing that kind of money come in the door. So, to survive the fierce competition you better be able to afford it.

I say all that to give you a bit of a back story because the meat of this article is coming up. You see, I read a very interesting article on Bill Gates where he was explaining that world governments and business are not prepared for what advancements in technology will do to the job market in the next 10 years. He warned that many jobs will become automated through employer cost reductions using technological advancements in software automation……or robots. Now…for some of you, this may sound all, techy mumbo jumbo but, just think how your home has changed just in the past 5 years. We are seeing home automation take off like nothing any of us have ever experienced before. For goodness sake, we have Google announcing that they expect their driverless cars to be on the roads in 5-7 years from now. We have homes that communicate with your phones and allow you to turn off lights, lock doors set security systems, turn of faucets….etc…. Take this same automation technology….and more importantly mentality and start applying this to real estate.

Yes, I said it, I said take software automation and start applying it to real estate, what do you see is the future of the Realtor? As a Realtor, it really sends a cold shiver up my spine. For many of us, we are already seeing automation in our markets and think of it as a easier way to do business. For example, many of us use appointment centers to schedule our appointments for us. Some appointment centers like the one I use allows my sellers and my buyers to be completely on self help. That’s right, my sellers can log on to their account, set the parameters of their availability and buyer’s agents can log on and schedule showings without ever having to pick up the phone, speak to me, or speak to anyone for that matter. In other words, the buyer’s agent and sellers completely handle their own showing schedule without any involvement from me…….other than simply setting up the account.

We also have wonderful automated lock boxes with phone widgets. Once a buyer’s agent has a showing scheduled, they don’t need me to open the box. They just show up, open their phone widget, type in their code and boom, the box opens and reveals the key. My point is, you don’t need me to schedule the showing or to give entry anymore and we all seem to be ok with this technology because, it makes our life easier.

Now, let’s all jump on board the imagination train and see a future where sellers can go online, find a cloud based real estate brokerage where all paperwork is signed digitally on-line, they upload their own photos, provide their own measurements and can place their own lock box on their door, set up their own schedule center and get all the marketing and advertising such as, MLS, MLS Syndication, National Syndication, Local Marketing, Craigs List Marketing, etc….. for the low 6 month price of only $499.99. No commissions to pay, no silly Realtor to deal with and all of the purchase and sale forms are online and explained so you negotiate your own home sale, directly with the buyer, through a web portal where an online licensed agent can answer any questions you may have via live chat.

Just curious, did you feel that shiver up your spine yet? If not….maybe you should go get checked, you might already be dead.

E-mail me when people leave their comments –

Jesse Gonzalez is a highly accomplished and respected real estate professional with a wealth of experience in the industry. With a career over 15 years, Jesse has established himself as a leading real estate sales and marketing expert.

As a licensed real estate agent since 2005 and a broker since 2008, Jesse has a comprehensive understanding of the complexities of the market. In 2013, he founded his firm, Liberty House Realty, LLC demonstrating his entrepreneurial spirit and commitment to delivering exceptional service to his clients.

Jesse's expertise extends beyond traditional real estate transactions. He obtained his Registered Appraisal Trainee in 2019, providing him with valuable insights into property valuation and market analysis. Although he decided to focus primarily on sales, his appraisal background gives him a unique advantage in understanding the intricacies of property values and trends.

With a dedication to excellence, Jesse consistently achieves outstanding results for his clients. Last year alone, he closed over $20 million in sales and received the prestigious Sapphire Award from his local association, recognizing his exceptional achievements in the industry.

Beyond his successful career in real estate, Jesse is passionate about education and personal growth. He is completing his undergraduate degree in Forensic Psychology, with plans to attend Law School in the fall of 2024. Jesse's ambition is to become a real estate litigator, focusing on real estate consumer protection law and advocating for the rights and interests of homebuyers and sellers.

As the owner/operator of the nation's largest social network for REO professionals, <a href="http://www.REOProNetwork.com">www.REOProNetwork.com</a>, Jesse has positioned himself as a thought leader and industry influencer. Through this platform, he fosters collaboration and knowledge-sharing among REO agents, attorneys, asset management firms, and other professionals in the field.

With a commitment to professionalism, integrity, and providing a personalized experience for his clients, Jesse Gonzalez is a trusted advisor and a driving force in the real estate industry. Whether assisting clients with buying or selling properties, he consistently goes above and beyond to exceed expectations and ensure successful outcomes.

You need to be a member of REO Pro Network to add comments!

Join REO Pro Network

Comments

  • Hey Marvin Von Renchler, you are a little too late with your idea. In fact, this is exactly what I am warning about. Paypal creater is already working on platforms to get rid of agents. See this link for more information.

    http://www.inman.com/wire/former-paypal-execs-startup-could-spell-t...

    Could a PayPal exec's startup spell trouble for agents?
    If a former Square and PayPal exec's stealth startup takes off, it seems possible that real estate agents could face the threat of
  • We do not need real estate people at all to market properties. The internet took care of that. OK so we OWN the MLS system but it could easily be just a giant ebay site. In fact---that gives me an idea!  ANyway, we are the only 'profession' that practices a little law without an attys license. We fill in blanks, tell people they need to have smoke alarms installed, etc. We dont taxi people around anymore after showing them little pictures from a 5 inch thick book.  We play 'who knows the most clauses' with each other in offers but we really dont negotiate anything. We give opinions of value to list. We do not deserve to make thousands of dollars to be in the process of selling a property. Did I type that out loud? YEP!

     

    Exceptions can be made for properties such as Marvin Shelley describes lower in this thread. Unique properties, hard to show, difficult to find, unknown lot lines, and especially when buying land to build. Otherwise for subdivision hoses I stand by my words. We are losing our grip on data and will ultimately be 'facilitators' like paralegals. Small flat fee for helping with the paperwork.

  • Hey Barbara, I agree, the distressed sale @ Auction right now is a cluster, and you are right again about the agents owning an auction company....(there is one) and that is what is wrong with most of the auction companies out there , they are not operated by agents or by agent input.  For years now the servicing industry has been trying to ease into the sale of the inventory.....now some of them have.  They will need us for showings unless the public gets used to just viewing during open houses........a scary thought!

  • Hey Deborah:

    Due to my inventory I have to deal often with Auction firms, what a cluster X*#*#*.  They get the buyer to pay a 5% premium and none of them go smoothly. But again...it's OUR data, how about collectively WE OWN the auction company if one is needed?  Someone still has to show the house, can't trust anyone with a key because every time something "magically" goes missing. Take the data back...it's really the first step. Funny, my cheese is always getting moved.

  • I agree, this has been coming for quite sometime....now with so much of the inventory being sold through auctions....I believe the train has left the station.  I think the IDX feeds have been the biggest blow to Realtors, yes it gets your listings out there, but now you don't need an agent to search for your new home, you can do it yourself as a buyer.  And sellers, even banks (some of whom own stock in these auction sites) are using auctions to sell property, and on some sites you don't need an agent to do that either.  Remember the book written in 1998, " Who moved my cheese"?  And now Google has invested in Auctions.com...... I think the handwriting is on the wall.

  • Barbara Gregus, you hit the nail on the head. NAR is too busy making money for it's self and not concerned with the real reason our fellow Realtors are hurting. Our national leaders are too busy selling our value out to the highest bidder.......and they will do the same when it comes to getting rid of us, when they start realizing we aren't as much a value to them as "Trulia"...or someone else.

  • Hi Jesse and all, so after Jesse's post I spent some time pondering, our core competency is helping buyers and sellers with real estate. Part of the value we have is the data that WE own. Our data is value, the MLS allows other firms to use our data and sell it back to us in the form of leads but bottom line, it IS our data. How stupid and absurd we give the largest value chain in our business - our data - away to others for free.  If all of the MLS's without any interference of our Realtor Association/Realtor.com, restricted our data to "SuperMLS.com" and combined all MLS'  across the nation, allow ONLY real estate agents to have IDX feeds, there would be no need for any of the other sites.  If the MLS's and agents agreed, they could resell the data to Zillow and have it divided amongst the agents based on the number of their listings.  Really, you don't think that consumers would soon learn that if they want national housing data they need to go to "SuperMLS.com" instead of Zillow, Trulia, etc. We have always discounted the value of our data, take it back!

  • I don't really care abut the MLs, Z,T or R. I get one MLS and Z inquiry dr every 10-12 I get from other websites. I get one or two a month from T and they just waste my time. Let'em fight it out without me. I do my thing and it works without any of them,
    I use the MLS only for working up comps for a listing appointment. I post as little a possible on the ML -Of course, I have to put every listing on there and I do with one photo. Want more than that? Call or email me.

  • In case you missed this article:

    http://www.housingwire.com/articles/29399-how-the-internet-chips-aw...

  • Barbara and Tom - You both got it right.

    Barb - If you think dealing with ignorant agents on homes is a problem, try working with vacant land out in them thar hills. They don't know easements, they tell people where property lines and corners are and that the creek is year round.

    I do not work in town. I rarely show other agent's rural listings unless they are $100,000 plus. I show and sell my listing and have a disclaimer buyers must sign before an offer is written. It says everything I know about this property is hearsay and the buyer is not relying on any information provided by the. and whole bunch more stuff.

    I don't even show my listings out in the mountains under $50,000. I tie ribbons on approx. frontage corners, put up a sign, send them a map with an aerial photo showing approx. prop lines and tell'em if they have a question to call me. My last three sales I met one seller before closing (others out of state) and met all three buyers at the closing table.

    RE agents are not indispensable. And John - You sound a bit like you want the banks to enter the brokerage business. I do! Then there will be huge changes. No more of this taking on all humans who walk thru the door with a  piece of paper in their hands.

    The word  "BANKS" make  NAR and franchises quake in their boots, but it's coming and I hope soon.

This reply was deleted.