There’s a lot going on in the world, and it all impacts real estate in major ways.
Since travel isn’t much of an option right now, I’ve taken the virtual route and joined real estate leaders during their annual sales meetings and conferences. The pandemic has profoundly changed almost every aspect of our lives.
- Speed of technology. The pandemic has “collapsed the speed of disruption,” says Gary Keller, founder of Keller Williams Realty. Literally overnight, agents migrated to a digital world. “What was going to take another five or six years to organically get adoption has literally happened overnight,” says Keller. Guy Gal, founder of SIDE Real Estate also mentioned that. “We live in a world that was changing before shelter-in-place [orders were called]. While the pandemic was the cause of the change, it accelerated it,” he says.
- Participating in change. The adoption of virtual technology tools is just one change we’re seeing in this market. Due to crime, civil unrest and a lack of outdoor space, people are leaving the cities and seeking more suburban and rural areas. Many people who had plans to move upon retirement are finding that they can move now due to work-from-home flexibility. “Use the change to your advantage to put yourself in a position to be successful,” says Gal. There is opportunity out there, you just have to find it.
- Diversity and Inclusion. Coldwell Banker CEO Ryan Gorman’s session at Coldwell Banker’s Gen Blue General Session addressed fair housing, diversity and inclusion. “Education is a foundation, but it’s certainly not the end. Even if we had the highest level of financial literacy for every American, we wouldn’t necessarily have the homeownership rate that we seek because we need action behind that,” says Gorman. “The single best way to positively impact homeownership in any community is to ensure that members of that community have access to people who partner with them and help them carve a path toward homeownership. Real estate agents are the best possible partner.”
So much is happening in the world right now, it can be easy to keep the status quo. However, now is not the time to do that. Seek out opportunities, fine-tune recruiting strategies, streamline your financials and prepare your company to withstand any trend, challenge or change that comes your way.
