In the Internet Age LESS IS MORE

Smith is quoted as saying "I'm absolutely sure that the way we sell real estate is going to change," Smith said. "I foresee that there's going to be a division between what brokers do and what the Internet can do for buyers and sellers. I think the Internet is going to be the central marketing tool in creating specialized services for buyers and sellers. I think they're going to be able to find each other without a broker."

He went on to say that he expects that real estate professionals of the future will focus more on handling the paperwork related to the transaction, such as purchase offers and disclosure documents.

I am amazed that Mr. Smith could have such an interesting concept in theory, yet present it in such a way to make most in our industry recoil in horror. It's not that I disagree with his premise that major changes are afoot in real estate: the MLS, as we know it, is terminal. Whether you believe that our MLS's sold us out or it's just the natural consequence of the free flow of information in the Internet age, the MLS, as THE place for property information is ending. As much as traditionalists may dislike the thought, there is simply no question that buyers and sellers, armed with information that they got WITHOUT going through an agent, will find each other more and more. Many sellers who have time will do their own marketing activities and buyers will do more of their own house hunting without us.

My problem with Smith is how he frames his argument and his apparent lack of understanding of what the Internet CANNOT do. He not only does a disservice to agents in cheapening their role, but, in pitching the wonders of the Internet as a matchmaking device without any acknowledgement of the importance of fiduciary counsel and care, he leaves the consumer increasingly vulnerable. A home is, to most people, their greatest financial asset. Buying or selling a home is not the same as selling clothes at a yard sale and without expert assistance, consumers "going it alone" more often than not, fail in their attempts to buy or sell for the greatest value.

What about taking the same concept and framing it differently? I would say instead that in the future, real estate professionals will be providing an "elevated role" of being the objective advisor and making some sense of what the mounds of data actually means - something the Internet can NEVER do! As Krystal Kraft, a real estate broker for The Berkshire Group Realtors in Denver was quoted as saying: "What we need is more time to help the consumer understand and digest all the information that is available to them. Information is not the problem, lack of knowledge and understanding is the issue."

If playing a "lesser role" means that agents aren't running around putting lock boxes on doors or waiting at the seller's house to meet the appraiser or the fire department so the smoke detectors can be checked, then I say AMEN. If a buyer, using the Internet can do drive-bys to narrow down their search, so that the agent can then step in, use their expertise to help them decide on a final choice, and guide them through a successful closed transaction, then is the agent truly playing a "lesser role"?

What so many in our industry are missing is that "less is more". Does a doctor feel cheated that someone in their office makes the patient appointments? Does an attorney get upset because his/her paralegal is performing some of the tasks that don't require their level of education or years of experience? Honestly, is the doctor's time better spent examining their patient or making appointments? Similarly, is the attorney's time better spent advising their client or performing purely functionary tasks? So, why can't we in the real estate industry wrap our heads around the concept of letting the consumer harness the power of the Internet to gather the data while we take the role of making sense of what it all means? It's not the number of hours that you put in - it's the level of work you are doing in those hours and being well paid for it. Instead of installing signs and playing tour guide, why not spend our time advising, negotiating, and trouble shooting?

Likewise, no real estate professional wants to look at their future role as simply "doing the paperwork". But what if this role was reframed as one where, once the buyer and seller have found each other that this is the time that they need us most? Because rather than simply "doing the paperwork", we are in fact providing the vital "contract to close". This is not semantics - it's a true reflection of where our value is. Any good agent knows that finding a buyer for the seller or a house for the buyer is the easy part - getting the transaction to a successful and profitable close is where the rubber meets the road.

Changes are indeed afoot and the continued emergence of new models only point out what is becoming as clear as day to anyone who will pull their head out of the sand: that in as little as five years from now, the people earning a living in our business will overwhelmingly be consultants who are paid for their expertise and counsel, not salespeople who are paid to move product. Change is not something that should be feared - it is in fact inevitable and necessary. After all, there was a time when the horse and buggy was our major means of transportation but someone came up with the automobile and thought that it just might work better!

The growth of technology offers doom and gloom for our industry if we sit back and let our role be disintermediated. However, it offers great opportunities if we use its growth to concentrate on what only we, as professionals, can do. It's an exciting future for those who embrace it because rather than being paid for our access, real estate professionals can be paid for their time, knowledge, and the expertise that can only come from years of experience.