The Real Estate Industry – Constant State of Evolution and Change – Are You On Board?
Guest Blogger, Mike Bowler, Sr. has been in the real estate business (Lansing, MI) for the past 32 years. During that time he’s educated and consulted hundreds of REALTORS. Mike is a former owner; broker of Coldwell Banker Bowler Real Estate and is currently an Associate Broker for Coldwell Banker Hubbell Briarwood in Lansing Michigan, who bought his company in 2001. He also owns his own company PRETEC (Professional Resources, E-Business, Technology, Education, & Consulting) and is an avid fan of social media in the workplace. Mike was named in 2009’s Top 25 Most Connected Real Estate Professionals by PROXIO and selected by Inman News as one of the 50 Most Influential Online.
The real estate industry is in a constant state of evolution and changes every day with technology, regulation changes, and economic challenges, never experienced by most of us in the real estate business. You can either bury your head in the sand or dig in and get on this exciting train ride. I choose to ride it out and continue becoming educated by some of the best resources I have witnessed over the past 32 years.
When our industry gets lax in education, it contributes to the lack of professionalism, our growth as REALTORS, and affects how competitive we as real estate agents will be in the coming years. I really believe that adapting and learning new ways to do business will help brokers, managers, and agents stay ahead of the knowledge curve and strengthen our ability to survive this paradigm shift.
Who would have thought a few years back that:
- Move would be acquiring Threewide (ListHub) providing a huge syndication for Listings (See Inman News story)
- RPR – REALTORS Property Resources would be formed and providing 98% of the nations property data (For those who have it)
- That YouTube would be the number 2 search engine
- That Facebook would have 500,000,000 members, the average user would have 130 friends and People would spend over 700 billion minutes per month on Facebook
- That approximately 2.5 million foreclosures would be in the process, and another 2.5 million mortgages would be 90-plus days delinquent.
Yes, we are in a whole new era of education for REALTORS, with short sale designations, foreclosure classes, green designations, new mortgage regulations, classes on how to work with your ancillary related businesses like appraisers, mold technicians, home inspectors, and of course loss mitigation. The sampling of changes above are just a small portion of drastic game changing events that any REALTOR, who has an interest in being a player for the future of real estate, must be aware of.
So where do we begin?
Professional development, learning new trends, and adapting to a more complex industry are musts for brokers, sales managers, and real estate agents. This also includes ancillary businesses like appraisers, mortgage originators, and title companies that have experienced massive change. My point is that as professionals we must adapt to new business strategies that enhance our knowledge, give quality service, and meet the demands of the e-consumer. We Must Raise the Bar!
Here’s a Place to Begin at Zero or Little Cost:
Right Tools Right Now
Agent Reboot™
Real Estate BarCamps
REALTOR University
Your Local Association, Company and Professional Educators
Setup Google Reader and Subscribe to the following sites:
Future of Real Estate Marketing
Mashable
Inman News
RISMedia
Realty Times
My Tech Opinion
Trulia Blog
Zillow Blog
I could go on and list many other avenues to education, however this list will help you grow your own list of favorite places to learn. Developing an edge in today’s market requires that real estate practitioners be proficient in Blogging, social media, search engine marketing, and how to work with the e-consumer once they contact you.
It is imperative that those real estate professionals who have come through this challenging market be fully prepared to take advantage of new steady growth that will be forthcoming. My point is that our industry needs to step up to the plate and sharpen our competitive edge by using good old fashion service integrated with new technology. Consumers drive the industry and have always driven it, however today they are looking online first. Are they finding you when they go to Google, Yahoo or Bing? If not, you owe it to your family, company, and yourself to get on board and learn this business all over again. All this is part of your newfound professional development, learning new trends, and adapting to a more complex industry.
Please share your strategies for staying abreast of the current trends in real estate.
14 Comment(s)
1 Trackback(s)
- From The Real Estate Industry – Constant State of Evolution and Change – Are You On Board? | Maverick Strategies | Oct 19, 2010
Alex Cortez | Sep 29, 2010 | Reply
Aloha Mike,
First, very well written post. I truly believe that real estate is an industry that will be at the forefront of technological advances, and as such, industry professionals must be ready to adapt to the changing tide. Those who are willing/able to welcome new aspects will be the ones who thrive while others complain about where all their business has gone. For one, I have embraced SEO as it’s one aspect that will continue to change yet the rewards will certainly justify the time/effort put into it. Looking forward to your post on Friday.
Mike Pedersen | Sep 29, 2010 | Reply
For real estate professionals, you cannot deny the importance of online technology to grow your business. There are tools be developed by the day that can enhance your business. I definitely believe there should also be a personal touch with part of your marketing, as you are dealing with HUMAN beings and not robots. The professionals who combine current technology AND some personal touch will be the ones who are at the top of the heap.
Mike
William | Sep 30, 2010 | Reply
Online presence is a must now days to grow your business.
Jessica Beganski | Sep 30, 2010 | Reply
To keep up-to-date, I subscribe to a variety of blogs (both real estate industry related and outside). I follow new ideas on twitter, go to more continuing ed classes a year than is required, do on-demand training (it’s in my business plan to take one class, online seminar or watch a video one a week.) However, my problem isn’t learning – it’s implementing. I feel overwhelmed by implementation and prioritizing.
Brooks | Sep 30, 2010 | Reply
The basics will always stay the same. But adapting those basics to a fast changing market is what makes the big difference. Great post.
Evelyn, Real Estate for Sale In Las Cruces | Oct 3, 2010 | Reply
Good resources. Thanks.
Steve Baker | Oct 3, 2010 | Reply
You really hit the nail on the head. As agents we need to either be on the bus or not by keeping our ears and eyes open and learning from other successful professionals. Great post-thanks.
Realtor Agent | Oct 3, 2010 | Reply
Thanks for those links! It is quite a challenge to adapt into these new mediums of sale and information, especially if you’ve been playing the game for quite some time now. But nothing ventured, nothing gained, as they say. It’s imperative to keep up with the times, and use the innovations to your business’ advantage.
Stillwater MN Homes for Sale | Oct 4, 2010 | Reply
Knowing how to best communicate to your clients will continue to be one of the best way to serve your clients. If your clients are big on texting, or on facebook…for example, being comfortable with these mediums of communication will allow you to excel in this service-related industry.
http://www.fenwaytriangletrilogy.com | Oct 5, 2010 | Reply
Mike,
Good article and furthermore, it’s impressive that someone who’s had so much experience in the industry be so open to new ideas and change. It’s not something you see very often. In my experience, those with the most years put into their careers are those who love their “tried and true” methods even when they stop being true and simply become “tried”.
I would also add Wall Street Journal, Your local paper’s real estate online sectional and the case-shiller home price index as more references.
Michael Sosnowski | Oct 6, 2010 | Reply
I am a total believer in online real estate – but is easy to confuse good and bad technology. For example, listing syndication is a bad concept for realtors – it actually drives traffic AWAY from your own personal site – it is the competition. The same is true for zillow, realtor.com and trulia. They are looking for ways to control the online space and eventually charge realtors for just about everything online. It is imperative that successful realtors develop THEIR OWN online presence – not rely on these companies who are really just Trojan Horses.
Svobodni Kvartiri | Oct 6, 2010 | Reply
Great post and good resources. Catching the newest things online is a must to grow any business these days.
Ammie Ace | Oct 20, 2010 | Reply
Really informative post regarding online presence very applicable now a days.
Toogoom Residential Estate
http://coralsandstoogoom.com.au/
Sullivan County NY Real Estate | Jun 4, 2011 | Reply
Not sure if Realtor. com is a trojan horse. And besides if you are concerned about someone digging in your pockets while pretending to be your friend, look no further than yor friendly neighborhood MLS. They are the ones that are charging for everything.