I might ruffle a few feathers with this entry, however I can't resist.  Last week I was talking with one of my clients about the state of our industry and where it's headed.  Many questions were raised and I think we both left the conversation scratching our heads.  I'm just going to start writing, so forgive me if I run a muck here and there.

I'll set the scene first.  It was a Friday and we had both checked out a bit early to meet at a favorite restaurant of ours.  We always seem to start our conversations with a question and the first one was "So what do you think the future brings to the real estate industry?"  The resulting answers made play for a two hour conversation.  I'll skip the laughter and stick with the highlights.

Why do so many successful agents feel the need to work for a large brokerage like a Re/Max, Coldwell Banker or Prudential?  ALL the successful agents have businesses based on their personal efforts and know that their clients come to them not because of the company they're with, but because of the service they give and/or provided in the past.

Why do they continue to pay high commission splits, desk rents and other fees when they spend the majority of their time working from home?  I mean really....you could set a bomb off in any one of the real estate offices in the South Bay, on any given day, and nobody would be there to see it go off.  The only exception would be meeting days when everyone shows up in their Sunday best to eat bagels and donuts.  Why do they allow Brokers to bully them into using In-House services? Okay..so I'm an independent title rep and my client that day was an independent lender, what can I say.  Why do Brokers continue to build large, expensive offices with huge training rooms featuring expensive audio and video equipment?  The result of which results in higher desk fees and splits to pay for these expenses....which, by the way, most of the producing agents never use.  Waste of money?  I think so.

These questions result in many answers depending which side of the fence you're on.  The truth of the matter is very real and very evident.  Because of outside factors such as technology and primarily the internet; our industry is going through a rapid and definite change.  The days of "bigger is better" are numbered and if you're like me you're beginning to see the Broker/Owners of these companies stressing out.  Most have overbuilt, taken on dead weight in non producing agents and bought into affiliations that aren't working out. They're now in a reactionary mode of damage control.

So....what does this all mean?  Eventually you're going to see some downsizing....okay....probably major downsizing.  This isn't a bad thing, however I think a few people are going to get caught with their pants down.  I believe the days of "Bigger is Better" are way over and you're going to see more and more Real Estate "Boutiques" open up.  The era of technology will make it a necessity and unfortunately those behind the power curve will suffer the consequences.  Folks...if you think I'm crazy you're in denial or you're so afraid you are hating me for writing this.  Bottom line is this...if you open your eyes up to reality you'll survive the next few years and be in the game.  If you decide to continue on like nothing has changed or is changing.....well.....I'll leave it to your imagination.