Classroom

“If a man neglects education, he walks lame to the end of his life.” (Plato)

The paradigm in the real estate brokerage space is rapidly changing from a broker-centric model to a consumer-centric model. We liken it to the transformation in the stock equities markets during the 1990’s. Real estate information, similar to information pertaining to stock equities, is readily available to the consumer which allows the consumer to handle certain parts of the real estate sale or purchase without the aid of a licensed broker. As such, the real estate consumer is much more educated today than in the past. However, the consumer does not possess the ability to be rational when selling or buying as their emotions can’t help but play a detrimental part. In addition, the communication between broker(s), seller, and buyer has become more efficient through the use of electronic mail, cell phones, and electronic document transfer thereby reducing the “time” the broker must devote to each transaction. All of these processes combined add significant efficiencies to the sell/buy process. However, the real estate industry continues to cling to an antiquated model thereby creating a financial inequity between the service providers and consumers. The void to be filled in the market is to provide a professional service from an experienced, educated, and competent real estate “consultant” (similar to an attorney, accountant or financial advisor) who adds identifiable value to the transaction for a set fee based on the services the consumer has determined they need. A thorough “needs based” assessment will be conducted to help determine that need. The one size fits all model is no longer applicable in a wired and educated world.