The three questions I heard most following the publication of my article in REM, The time has come to make a fundamental shift in organized real estate, were:
1. When does the sequel come out?
2. Why should we want to do the things you wrote about in the article?
3. What are you going to do about it?
The fact that you are reading this answers the first question. I will attempt to provide more context in answering the other two.
Why should you care?
So, why should we want organized real estate to move away from the legacy model of protectionism by actually collaborating to better utilize the resources available to us as a whole so that we can actually innovate?
There’s this sense in organized real estate that when we talk about collaboration, we’re automatically suggesting mergers and amalgamations of the many organizations across the country. I’ve always believed that amalgamations will happen at a grassroots level. The boards of directors and members of an organization will see the benefit and move toward action.
That said, organizations resistant to mergers for reasons such as “it takes away their identity,” “real estate is local” or “members NEED local representation” should probably do an environmental scan to ensure they have the necessary resources to manage today’s liabilities and tomorrow’s risk.
Address redundancy to get the right resources & support for realtors
Like other organizations, when we review our risk register, it’s necessary to consider if we have the resources and capacity not only to continue providing the everyday services expected by our membership but also to navigate challenges ahead.
This is asking a lot. It means:
- having a strong internal cybersecurity strategy with confidence that we won’t be the next London Drugs in the national news,
- being prepared for the impact of new technology and AI used by members, consumers and other stakeholders,
- being prepared to support the role of the broker over the next decade with the pressure on that role increasing,
- having the resources to navigate the legal challenges the profession faces,
- having the capacity to work through an increasingly complex regulatory environment and
- having the resources and technology to satisfy the growing demand from regulators and government to ensure data is available to inform policy and rules.
Even if we have the resources to tackle these issues, it does not make sense for multiple organizations to duplicate this work. By addressing redundancy in some of these critical areas, we can create the additional capacity to truly support the realtor community and provide the services they need to navigate the risks and challenges ahead.
Start acting more corporate
In the original article, I made several suggestions on what we could start to do differently, which would help us move the needle on being more collaborative and innovative.
The first is to start acting more corporate. We have a saying in British Columbia, “That’s just playing office.” This comes from often seeing one board paying a neighbouring board for the listings their members are putting on the MLS system, or vice versa. One organization sponsoring an event hosted by another organization. One group contributing to a fundraiser of another group. Every dollar that flows into organized real estate comes from the same place, the realtor, but we act like each entity is somehow disconnected from this reality.
A shift to a corporate organizational model would prioritize decisions that result in efficiency, eliminate redundancy and focus on the interests of the corporation. Considering organized real estate as a collective of corporate entities (which they are) with access to $288 million annually, as referenced in the first article (which they have) — taking steps to build out a corporate organizational model would inherently move us toward innovation.
Stop “playing office,” stop acting like service clubs and start making decisions that are motivated by good corporate practice.
Break down boundaries, centralize & leverage data and information
When we talk about fundamentally shifting organized real estate, the second suggestion in the original article would result in the largest impact toward that shift — moving away from the over-fixation on the existing cooperative construct. Organized real estate represents 160,000 independent business owners across the country. These entrepreneurs have more access to business tools and competitive differentiators than ever before. The cooperative sandbox that we built 100 years ago just isn’t working for today’s playground.
Imagine if we stopped focusing on the cooperative nature of organized real estate and instead considered it a centralization of data and information that can be leveraged to bolster the industry. Data has always been synonymous with MLS systems and real estate boards but its value has always been predicated on cooperation. If…
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