Say Goodbye To Brick & Mortar

Just when you thought the age of the Dinosaurs was long gone another Dinosaur is on the verge of extinction. "Brick & Mortar" Real Estate Companies. Crazy idea you say? Crazy like a Fox.
The Northwest Multiple Listing Service has been experiencing shifts in the past couple years. Agents leaving the NWMLS at a rate of about 14% every year for going on three years, a reduction in membership, and agents moving onto greener pastures.

If not for the innovation and creativity of a select few Brokers, those green pastures might well be outside the fences of the real estate industry. These trends could indicate a possible sign of concern for the industry if not for safe havens created by Brokers ahead of the curve. These safe havens are the wave of the future. "Online Brokerages". Northwest Equity Home Sales provide this virtual office platform. Although not entirely new to the industry their growing popularity can be contributed to the slow down of the market which is driving agents to scrub their plates clean of unnecessary expenses and if you really think about it, isn't that what should be done even without market forces. A lean clean business machine is always better than the alternative.

In days and years past the bloated bank accounts of agents and broker alike afforded a certain level of carelessness and complacency when it came to advertising, listing, and marketing expenses but those days are long gone and I say good riddance. Brought on by market demand “Online” brokerages provide a host of benefits for experienced agents that rival those services offered by the old Dinosaur brick and mortar companies. Today’s agent isn’t shackled to the confines of an office or to the wires and cables of technologically handicapped firms that charge outrageous fees for service that should other wise be free.

The modern day real estate agent is wireless and deserve a wireless platform in order to thrive in today‘s environment. They travel the landscape using GPS navigation, laptops with WI FI and hands free devices with infared technology to access listed homes. They send text messages with the ease and nimbleness of an Olympic champion. They have adapted to the new era of home buyers and sellers who email and peruse the Internet during their morning cup of Joe just as regularly as if it were delivered to their door step in print form by the neighborhood delivery person.

Today’s agent isn’t relying on the big name brokerage companies anymore. They have learned through hard work, intensive labor and long hours the rewards of their labor should be exactly that. THEIRS! They have finally began to realize the buyer and or seller agrees to work with the agent 99% of the time NOT the brokerage company. It’s the agent that gains the trust of the client NOT the company. It’s the agent that builds, establishes, and maintains the relationship with the client, NOT the company.

It’s the agent that meets with the owner and lists a home, meets with buyers and sells a home, closes the transaction, coordinates the Title Company, the inspection , the appraisal, and the signing. For all their hard work what do they get from the company? A huge office bill and the balance of what should have been a nice paycheck.

For those very reasons agents are asking this question. Why pay tens of thousands of dollars to a company when it’s the agent who is doing 99% of the work and what am I really getting for all this money. Good questions right. You bet they are and many agents are asking themselves the same thing.

Market forces work and when the market slows down for one sector it picks up for another, or forces change the market would not have other wise undergone. What will happen when the big brick and mortar mega-brokerage companies start to fade away? Will the agents who stuck with them go down with the ship or will they be adventurous enough to move on to greener pastures?
While many will simply slide into their pre-real estate lives as the Dinosaurs fade away, many who are not afraid to think outside the box or harness that independent entrepreneurial spirit that compelled them into real estate in the first place will make the choices that may just ensure their future otherwise they could go into extinction as the Dinosaurs have and will again…