Front Face & Profile

an industry under house arrest

Donald S. Teel – Founder

President and CEO

e-Partner®

Copyright © 2007, e-Partner USA, Inc. Distribution without alteration permitted. www.ePartnerUSA.com 1
 
  
 

Mug Shot: A New Front Face & Proffile

Originallyy Posted by Donald Teel at REALono
omics on Au
ugust 26th, 2007
2

We have
e entered a New Real Esstate Econom
my. Our bussiness
models will
w be orde er by a new set
s of rules and realities
which we
w have referred to as The
T Ten Com mmandmentss of
the New
w Real Estate
e Economy.

The new w economic rules

r and re
ealities form the New Mo odel
Math forr an industryy that is morphing from m its broker-
a agent-centric roots to a decide
centric and edly consumer-
centric model.
m Whooever writes the new rulles and
effective
ely addresses the new re
ealities will,, to a large degree,
d control the gam
me and much h of
its econo
omic outcomme.

Mugging
g for the Ne
ew Digital Camera

A new mug shot is em merging andd we are fina ally able to sketch the features
f of the
t front facce
and profiile of an ind
dustry in posssession of economic
e and operating models that are underg going
massive revision. Wh hat emergess will become the new real r estate professional
p and businesss
g profile forr the coming
operating g decade.

Images ofo the old mu ug of total brand

b separaation, rugged individualism and atte empts to ha
ave it
all will become
b econ
nomically un nfeasible. Th
he consumerr demand fo or services has raised the
price of admission
a in
n an arena where
w w simply have
there will not be many front seats. We will
to do mo ore for the all
a powerful consumer th han we can afford to doo, this will be
b a huge
economicc reality thaat will lead to
t new operrating rules.

Defining
g the New Broker/Ow
wner Realitties

New Rea ality 1: We’rre moving att light speed

d and manag ging change will become e a fundame
ental
and delib
berate actio
on for busineess success. Broker/Own ners will no longer need
d to throw
themselvves under th
he bus; the bus
b will simp ply run us do
own! Business will large
ely become the
t
managem ment of channge in red hot crucible.

Our new Model Math h reality must include what

w REALon nomics calls “change ma anagement.””
Manage change
c or watch
w your bu usiness erod
de. The chan nges will incclude brand new, never
before seeen models, that trim fa
at and speed d up efficien
ncies…more specificity on this laterr in
this post. Understan
nding the Re eal Estate In
ndustry’s Ecoonomic Eras helps clariffy how changge
and technology can work
w for us or against us.
u

New Rea
ality 2: Brok
ker/Owners will ess they adopt
w see furtther challenges to profittability unle
consume
er-centric, trransparent real
r estate business
b mod
dels that tru
uly partner with
w the

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artner USA, Incc. Distribution without alteratiion permitted. www.ePartnerrUSA.com 2
 
  
 

consumer. Things like true conversations in the market place that allow the consumer , peer-
to-peer (seller to buyer and relocation transferee with resident) opportunities and a
blogosphere the likes of which we can’t even begin to fathom.

It’s time for the industry to embrace the inevitable Democratization of Real Estate. And we
will need to start with unfettered access to property information on at least a statewide and
perhaps eventually a national basis. This is our new reality and it will be a reality we adopt by
choice or by prescribed will of forces not friendly to the industry. If we don’t grab it and go
with it we may see our business models die.

New Reality 3: Coalition real estate. I can hear some of you asking, “what the…?” Coalition
real estate is a REALonomics term representing a new type of merger/acquisition model that
involves the creation of hybrid relationship between the strangest of bedfellows. The old M&A
model will become scant, with new technology-driven relationship becoming a “norm”
without anyone necessarily owning it “ALL.” We can’t afford to own it all, can we?

Coalition Real Estate is an economic “Club-Med” that enables us to have all things without
having all things…arghh, this one is tough! In the New Real Estate Economy, coalitions will be
a fact necessary to the management of change and the demands of the consumer. It will
involve new agent sharing models, technology pyramids that collate the tools for groups of
Broker/Owners to utilize with optimal price points. Transaction complexity within the lending
and brokerage industries together with consumer demands will force us toward coalition
strategies as a normal part of business.

New Operating Rules for the New Realities

The new realities push new rules into the market place and these new rules are the dots
Broker/Owners begin to connect for optimal business model strategies. However, let’s not
think that we have no control over the rule-making and design of the real estate industry for
the next decade. Although many Broker/Owner have abdicated some critical authorities in
the industry, it’s not too late to exercise strong influence on content of the new rule book.

Although REALonomics will not have time or space to qualify each of these new operating
rules, the economic primer for them includes, but is certainly not limited to, the following
ten industry considerations:

1. Deliberate reduction, as a matter of policy, in the number of real estate agents

allowed to practice and thus a reduction in mediocrity.
2. Business entities that are set up to study, manage and influence industry change on
behalf of Broker/Owners and the industry itself.
3. Refined definitions of the models and economic blueprints for core services utilized by
Broker/Owners.
4. Partnerships and consolidation of services between competing franchisors - ouch!
Indeed, franchisors face the same famine of profitability we all face.

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5. Implementation of Paperless Tools for front and back end transaction management
favorable to agents, owners and consumers. We are Awash in Paper!
6. Removal of the structural impediments inherent in the old MLS property models so
that transparency and utility can become the norm.
7. Demolition of the local Association of Realtors model in favor of at least
regionalization and ultimately, nationalization in favor of the consumer.
8. A new mandate for NAR that redirects and allocates our resources in favor of models
and programs benefiting Broker/Owner profitability.
9. Adoption of high-speed, data-rich property evaluation tools, including rapid price
evaluation technologies at affordable costs.
10. Replacement of old Internet lead generation models with transparent partnerships
with the consumer.

These new business rules will evolve from the realities we now face as an industry. Together,
these rules, with others yet to be articulated, will form our new Front Face and Profile. Our
problem today is we are mugging for a camera that either does not exist or is snapping photos
of competing models.

It’s going to be a very cool decade ahead of us. Enjoy the ride, embrace the pace…enjoy the
thrill. After all, you’re already on the roller coaster. Buckle up…grease the bearings…here we
go!

Donald Teel, is the Founder, President & CEO of e-Partner and the Editor of REALonomics.net
an industry blog. Mr. Teel is a former Del Webb Corporation Vice President of Sales and
Marketing and former owner of Prudential Foothills Real Estate a regional, multi-office
company located in northern, Arizona that he sold in April, 2005.

For additional confidential information about the consulting services of e-Partner, visit
www.ePartnerUSA.com or, if you prefer, call e-Partner toll free at 1-877-380-1000.

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