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Bradley Inman's Top 10 List - The "Road to Recovery"

At the Inman Realty Connect Conference in NY this week, Bradley Inman revealed his Top 10 list for the Road to Recovery to begin. Some are on target, some are off-base, and some are insane. Tell me what YOU think:

1. Overhaul the commission compensation model (find new ways to pay real estate agents besides a % of sales price)

2. Regulate the types of mortgages available (outlaw certain types of mortgages)

3. Find more efficient real estate transaction model (too many parties getting paid in the transaction)

4. Consolidate all MLS systems into one National MLS and get rid of Exclusive Right to Sell listing agreements

5. Have tougher regulations for real estate licenses and mortgage broker licenses. (Have a National real estate licensing standard with states able to add more stringent criteria if they want.)

6. Provide buyers and sellers with better "micro data" about their transactions and properties so they can quantify their risks

7. reform the secondary mortgage market and securitization - have the originator retain some of the risk of the loan longer

8. reduce settlement services costs: develop or discover low cost title insurance policies

9. outlaw bundling of affiliated services unless in results in consumer savings

10. remove all barriers to all new business models

Wow. Some good, some bad, some weird and completely wrong.

Talk to me. Tell me what you think.

Posted by Richard Rector on 01/08/2009 09:10 PM

Comments (9)

Industry Changes in the ActiveRain Channel

inman, inman news, mls, mortgages, commissions

Originally posted at: Rich Rector's Blog: Bradley Inman's Top 10 List - The "Road to Recovery"

Post is included in group: Realty Executives Commercial
Post is included in group: Realty Executives

9 Comments on Bradley Inman's Top 10 List - The "Road to Recovery"

JAN

Opinions are like belly buttons. Every body has one.

I for one believe the industry will be undergoing many more changes in the next few years. It will certainly be interesting to look back two years from now and see if any of these predictions have come to fruition.

I think you summed it up nicely, some are on target and some are way out there.

Richard,

Licensing is a hot topic, especially in the mortgage field. A national licensing system would be to everyone' benefit and actually it's now in the works. So, it's coming.

And how exactly does Inman propose to overhaul commissions? A National MLS ... good luck! Will be interesting to review this list at Inman SF to see if any significant progress has been made.

JAN

Richard,

Thanks for posting this list. It is sure to generate quite a bit of industry discussion. John brings up a great point about progress. I think that much of it will be slow. Although, given the current market conditions, there might be more pressure than ever for brokerages and agents to address some of the issues surrounding our industry that were easy to ignore when inventory was flying off the shelves.

JAN

Brad's point #4 part b is a bold statement. While I agree that one national MLS would make things great for consumers and create a consistent set of rules. The abolishing the exclusive right to sell could create many more problems and shift the model greatly.

If a consumer has more than one realtor representing a listing, there will be more marketing of that property. However when a buyer views that property it may be due to advertising from Realtor A het the final transaction takes place with Realtor B.

Ultimately I think that this would discourage realtors from the listing side of a transaction. Causing a whole market of FSBOs to be sorted out by buyer's agents.

Thanks for posting this info Rich.

JAN

Number 3 is certainly a must. More efficiency is long over due in a real estate transaction, but it doesn't come down to just who gets paid in a transaction. The real flaw is the fact that there is no service standard in the mortgage industry. Real estate professionals rely heavily on the mortgage industry to facilitate their transactions. The industry promises good service, but to they actually deliver. Mortgage professionals to this point don't communicate, educate, and disclose customers or the agents enough during the transaction. There is not a barometer for any real estate agent in which to effectively measure how well a lender will handle their transaction. The mortgage industry is broken due to lack of service. There has not been enough education, disclosure, or communication. This has led to customers making mortgage decisions based on price, or even worse, payment. These bad decisions have led to the mortgage disaster we are experiencing now and has crippled the entire real estate industry. Real estate agents need to demand from lenders a standardized service level, and make partnerships with those lenders that adopt this standard. Better customer service will lead to more loyal customers and the industry can begin to heal.

JAN

1. Overhaul the commission compensation model (find new ways to pay real estate agents besides a % of sales price)

That is a definite. The pessimism and fear is coming from agents who refuse to think outside the box. I have many clients who are professionals--businessmen/women and I work with them differently than others will. Many of these clients would never list with a "traditional firm". I look at each client and ask them to tell me what they want/need from me. Then the price is set. For some, I am a consultant paid a set fee. For others, it's purely MLS access (I represent several builders this way--they don't want/need my negotiating but they want the MLS0. For others, it's 110% marketing, and they pay a premium

2. State-wide MLS or even national would HELP us not hurt us. I belong to 4 MLS groups to do my job the best. That is insane. Each has their own rules, their own fees, their own forms and their own websites. My admin does nothing but input listings and deal with the websites and feeds. That is nuts.

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