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An antique lamp on my desk depicts a herculean figure holding up a sphere as he straddles a turtle.
The image reminds me of the “good” people in the real estate industry who care so much and carry the weight of so many others as they creep along on the back of a slow-moving housing market.
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I’m not sure my metaphor works, but I know for certain that this year was the bottom of the bottom for the real estate industry.
As the housing market froze, a structural shakeup of epic proportions slammed the business to the ground.
Regulators, lawsuits, mainstream media scrutiny, industry complacency, and a lack of leadership and transparency tore apart a 120-year-old business, reshaping a valuable but troubled profession.
Industry arrogance, corruption and denial
Headline stories about industrywide sexual harassment, corruption at NAR, creepy luxury agent shenanigans and failed leadership appeared weekly. Lawsuit after lawsuit was filed or settled, as companies paid out billions of dollars.
Collective shame.
The housing market was locked up like a stubborn oyster that could not be opened.
Exhausting.
I remember when I had COVID. For the first time in my life, I experienced trouble breathing. It was not like being out of breath; it was the sensation that my life was at risk when I grasped for that last breath.
This year, the real estate industry was gasping for air.
What’s next?
The consumer wins — transparency transcends self-interest.
The worst parts of the industry are being rooted out: poor business practices, unethical leaders, and an opaque process for buying and selling homes.
Internal mythologies can no longer cover up fundamental problems and prevent change. For industry exploiters, the honey pot is being emptied.
Now, the real estate industry must redefine itself, starting with who it is.
It’s not the National Association of Realtors, fawning consultants, self-righteous experts, or tepid big company CEOs (except Gary Keller, Sue Yannaccone, Glenn Kelman, James Dwigins and Robert Reffkin).
They all depend on a grassroots sales machine served by 200,000 independent agents — not a million, but a professional subset facilitating the sale of some three million-plus homes. This group, with their brokers, directly or indirectly, pays most of the industry’s bills, including subscriptions to Inman News.
A new generation of leaders with different values
They will not be conflicted, self-serving, or spineless, speaking out with grit and zeal.
At CEO Connect earlier this year in NYC, during a discussion of industry woes, a younger group of leaders took the microphone and spoke up, openly critical of tenured leadership.
That would not have happened in the past, silenced by industry political correctness; many often cowered like bullied children or were duct-taped by their lawyers.
As French poet and playwright Moliere said, “It is not only what we do, but also what we do not do, for which we are accountable.”
Let’s give a shout-out to the long-time reformers who, over the decades, have criticized the system.
Now, of course, everyone is a reformer. Karl Marx wrote that the petty bourgeoisie are the first to join the revolution.
Change how you do business
Not walking on their tiptoes, good brokers and Realtors have already baked reform into their business, with transparency at the core of their services, from how commissions work to honest and thorough disclosures.
This is not a new strategy, but it’s now a requirement for everyone.
Shady Realtors have been in the industry for a long time; now that the sun is shining on them, many will go out of business.
A tough market is also a roto-rooter for cleaning out the rot.
What’s next? Accountability. A “new” industry will emerge in which agents and brokers will hold one another accountable. Silence won’t be acceptable.
Good agents will no longer need to carry the weight of those who don’t care about the business, its reputation and its practices.
A reformed industry with greater transparency equals increased consumer confidence and more sales.
Email Brad Inman
