The future of Real Estate: Are Real Estate Agents becoming obsolete?

I’m seeing a lot of articles lately about websites, technologies, and companies looking to replace the real estate agent. From Zillow Instant Offers and Open Listings, everyone is trying to disrupt the industry. Here are my thoughts. Feel free to add me on Snapchat / Instagram: GPStephan

Honestly, as a buyer and investor myself, the investor in me would love for there to be a streamlined process between buying and selling. I just wish everyone can level with each other, shake hands on a price over 5 minutes of negotiation, and call it a day, where both parties can be happy. But realistically, everything that’s rolled out so far won’t make much of an impact and the career of being a real estate agent will be thriving for a very long time. And the reason why is because real estate is often bought with emotion, not with logic.

Buying a house is an emotionally-driven decision. It’s one of the most expensive purchases someone will make in their lifetime, it’s where they’re going every night, it’s where they’re sleeping, it’s where they’ll create memories, it’s where they’ll raise a family and grow old. As a seller, your home is an extension of you - you spent your life’s earnings on this place, you created memories here, this house is YOU. And technology can’t effectively articulate emotion.

Half of what I do is act as a therapist. I’m someone that people bounce ideas off of, I share experiences, stories, and opinions. I’m someone they can trust for advice and techniques to get them the highest price. And it’s important to objectively look at how someone is feeling and determine how you can best get them what they want.

As a real estate agent, you need to understand your value. Your value comes in the fact that buying and selling real estate is emotional and you need to learn to handle that to benefit your client. A good agent can make a 10%+ different in the selling price based off their techniques, photographs, selling strategy, etc. I’ve seen random no-name agents just kill deals because they have no idea what they’re doing. Then their sellers are left wondering why the property never sold. Sometimes it’s mis-pricing it, something it’s lack of advertising, sometimes it’s lack of pictures, sometimes the agent just isn’t available to show it.

And sometimes you have to have your client move away from the emotional side when things become too difficult, and help guide them to logical. Sometimes clients get too logical and focused on the numbers to the point they forget this is the place where they’re going to be spending the next 20 years of their life. Understanding the ups and downs is an advantage real estate agents have over programs and websites. It’s less about being persuasive as it is giving an objective thought and making sure your client understands all angles before making a decision.

But WILL this take away from our business? I doubt it. It’s all about effectively communicating your value and why you’re worth what you charge. If you can do that, you won’t have any problem. Because the truth is, a good agent is one who saves you more money than they cost.

For business inquiries, you can reach me at GrahamStephanBusiness@gmail.com

Suggested reading:

The Millionaire Real Estate Agent

Your money or your life

The Millionaire Real Estate Investor

How to Win Friends and Influence People

Think and grow rich

Awaken the giant within

The Book on Rental Property Investing