It’s Time to Change the Channel

Real estate has always been competitive, but today’s focus on brand or tribal self-interest loses sight of failings in the industry at large. Assuming a big picture “raise the bar” perspective may seem naively aspirational, but solving long-standing industry-wide pain points could produce benefits for all constituents.

As the saying goes, “A rising tide lifts all boats.”

Maybe it’s time to finally turn our attention to three persistent, across-the-board problems in real estate:

1. How does the everyday real estate consumer distinguish the high-value agent from the mediocre one?

Consider the power of agents earning an industry gold standard accreditation based on minimum standards, meaningful education, performance metrics, peer reviews, and even objective consumer ratings like Net Promoter Scores. It’s well beyond time for customers to select their agent based on merit and professionalism. We need to stop putting up barriers to this kind of transparency.

2. How do we educate consumers about the true nature of real estate transactions, including:

• Why the model is structured as it is

• How it benefits buyers and sellers

• What indispensable functions agents perform beyond the obvious ones

Can we leverage new media to create an industry-wide campaign that tells the real story of real estate? It’s time we overtake the manufactured narrative led by media reporters and litigation lawyers over the last few years.of media reporters who have never bought a home and litigation-hungry lawyers alike.

Let’s think outside the box, with True Transaction podcasts, streaming interviews with industry experts explaining the “whys,” and actual agent/client highlight reels on social media. It’s time we offer a new version of HGTV-style “edu-tainment,” focusing on the transaction instead of the home.

3. What policies and programs could bridge the affordable housing gap to help first-time buyers make that first pivotal home purchase?

We all know how foundational first-time home ownership is to long-term wealth-building, but it is also essential to support the move-up buyer market. Finding creative ways to address this problem will produce massive rewards.

Potential solutions include lobbying for tax incentives and public policy initiatives to facilitate first-time home ownership, along with identifying private business programs and investment opportunities that propel younger people into early home purchases.

The logical entity to tackle these formidable barriers would be NAR. But that would likely  require the association to divest itself of nearly all functions that are redundant or better handled at the state or local level, marshal the best talent in the industry, and apply its considerable resources to these three critical areas. At best, that is an unlikely scenario.

In the face of a leadership void, it may be time for a new industry-wide consortium to study these challenges, develop solutions involving financially viable business models to support them, and re-define the consumer’s perception of the real estate industry. A huge undertaking, but the cascade effects of such a reframing could usher in a revitalized era of American home ownership.

Will anyone recognize this opportunity and seize it? If so, who will that leader(s) be?