Real estate professionals need to think differently about the future. They need to do more and they need to move faster.

It has now been more than 10 years since my first book on trends, Real Estate confronts Reality, and many of the changes that we have been writing and speaking about are now coming to fruition. Things are definitely changing, and on a large scale. Within the next five years the real estate brokerage industry will significantly have changed and brokers and agents that don't adapt now will not enjoy the benefits of the next economic upswing.

Many of the leading companies of the next few decades are already starting to emerge and the time to stake your claim is now. How do you do that? The answer, of course, is not a simple one, but one that I will nevertheless endeavor over the course of the next few months to shed some light on.

Let's start our journey by identifying five factors that will characterize the future:

1. Change

Change is real. It is neither bad nor necessarily good. However it is constant and ever present. It is the very essence of life. So change in our industry is not something new, nor should it be deemed unexpected. It will however alter they way you do business. The more change we experience in a condensed time frame, the larger the transformation will be.

2. Complexity

Most adjustments in life are usually hard and therefore we by nature resist them. We have to deal with many changes occurring at the same time that are integrated with activities, products and processes we do not always understand - all of which create a myriad of complexities. And as the future is uncertain and ever changing these complexities just cloud the issue, often hiding very change needed. 

3. Confusion

And so the change together with the complexity creates confusion for us. We become bewildered by the new and often fixated with the idea that we cannot do something. This uncertainty is unfounded and must be overcome. As certain as there are new things you do not know, so also is the fact that you can master any new product, service or skill and that the path going forward can be revealed.

4. Choice

Remember that every scenario provides options and alternatives. Failure is more often than not self imposed barriers. Each problem, obstacle and impediment has more than one solution and you have the capability of discovering it. It just requires commitment, focus, time and execution.

 5. Courage

Do not resist change. Embrace it. Make it work for you. Find the thread from the past that you can carry into the future - build on your existing knowledge by adding new knowledge, grow your skill set by expanding your horizons and remain competitive by embracing innovation. Rather than resisting or fearing the change help shape the future of the industry.

Every year the Swanepoel TRENDS Report identifies, analyzes and then details out the most important and imminent changes that are expected to impact the real estate industry over the coming 12 - 18 months. The 2009 edition is currently in the final 60 days of research and writing.  

If you have information that you would like to share with me feel free to email me and my research team at 2009@REtrends.com before Monday, November 17^th.