In the latest RISMedia webinar—“How to Diversify Strategies That Break Barriers and Expand Business in a Post-Burnett World”—high-level industry leaders discuss how the real estate industry can and must change after the class-action commission lawsuits.
The webinar was moderated by Charlie Oppler, CEO of Prominent Properties Sotheby’s International Realty and former National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) president, and included panelists Colette Stevenson, CEO of REsides, Daniel Dennis, president of Illustrated Properties and Ige Johnson, founder and CEO of Ige Johnson Group, brokered by eXp Realty.
Key takeaways:
- The industry will learn and adapt to this new world together.
- Buyer’s representation agreements are about to become mandatory, so agents should be training to use them.
- The key challenge for REALTORS® will be communicating the value of their services to buyers, not only sellers.
- The role of the MLS must be rethought as more than just a place to house listings and compensation offers.
- Real estate professionals must think of themselves as consumer advisors, rather than “gatekeepers” of information about how to buy a home.
Here’s what our esteemed panelists had to say:
- “Everybody’s for progress, but nobody wants change. I think there’s going to be resisters, on one end of the spectrum to all of these changes that may happen, and there’s going to be those that take action, maybe even prematurely, because we’ve gotta do something, and we’re going to have every response in between. I do think our industry will end up stronger because (the changes) will challenge our communication skills.” – Daniel Dennis, president of Illustrated Properties
- “The key question is, what is the role of the MLS going forward? It’s not just a library of listings. We need to remember that the value of the MLS is so much more than just entering a listing. The MLS needs to be thought of as a strategic partner for a brokerage.” – Colette Stevenson, CEO of REsides
- “We are a relationship industry. Technology is just here to help, but it cannot replace the agent—and it shouldn’t.” – Ige Johnson, founder and CEO of Ige Johnson Group, brokered by eXp Realty
- “I don’t think brokers get paid enough. Personally, I think they should make more and they should make more money off of their data.” – Colette Stevenson, CEO of REsides
Watch the full webinar here.
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