MostlyGeek

This is a quote I came across a few days ago at altosresearch.com:

“Technology won’t replace agents. Agents with technology will replace agents.” This great quote, by Burke Smith of Prudential California Realty, really nails it. The shifting advantage is clear. The agents gaining share are those investing smartly in technology - be it a online real estate marketing tools, lead generation systems, Blackberries for fast response to leads, blogging to build the community, or search engine optimization.

I found this so insightful and well said that I shared it on the internal Sutton mailing list. The next day Mr. Shaw (el presidente) found this with me, the first paragraph of his Message from the President in Sutton Group’s 1999 annual report:

Technology appears to be the ‘buzz’ word for the year 2000. But how does it relate to real estate and will it mean the demise of the Realtor? Absolutely not! Technology is an essential tool in acquiring information and with information comes power. A Realtor without this tool, will be a Realtor without power. It is our conclusion that real estate agents will not be replaced by technology - however agents not embracing it, will most certainly be replaced by those who have.

So why, seven years later, does real estate technology still seem like it is in the stone age, and does it really matter?

Heh, that was just a trick question to get you in here. The answer is both yes and no, because what’s really important are the circumstances. Since I’m knee (maybe neck, *gulp*) deep in real estate technology I’ve developed some profound insights. Tip: Being a think tank of one makes for easy concensus on profound insights. Are you ready? Here it is:

We need more technology to find the right realtor, not more technology to find the right listing.

At first I asked the same question every other real estate geek has asked, what is the listing silver bullet? Ha! Got’cha again! That’s another trick question because there is no silver bullet. If you spend $100.00 or $10,000 on listing search your return on investment will be roughly the same. Let’s assume companies building listing tools want to make money, I know… far fetched.

Consider Zillow, who’s generating the most buzz these days. I’m pretty sure they’re in the red (like hemorrhaging money), but that doesn’t matter because their business plan can come later. Once they’ve got the mind and market share then they can worry about making money before running out of it. However, I am predicting that they’ll eventually start charging for something (profound insight #2!). What will they start charging for? Well read on…

Say we live in Happy Fantasy Land where listing data is accessible and freely available under a very tasty license. The data is open, now what? Well first there will be more Google Map mash ups than you can shake Stick2.0 at. Secondly, a gold rush will occur. People and companies will try their hand at creating the next big thing. Most of them will fail, and the Red Hat’s that ‘get it‘ will succeed.

Why will only the Red Hat’s succeed? Well if listing data is Linux then Realtors would be the kernel hackers. Red Hat’s bread and butter are their services and tools that makes Linux useful, not Linux itself. So it’s in the best interest of Red Hat to be good to the kernel hackers (profound insight #3!). So why are so many people crying out for open listings but hating on realtors? It doesn’t make sense right?

Well, it does if you consider that people generally have no idea what makes them happy so they wind up latching on to the lowest common denominator, money. You’d think that nobody has ever heard the cliche, money can’t buy happiness. But I know what would make most people happy, the right realtor. The one that finds your dream home for a steal and the one that sells your old home for a killing! The funny thing is, I also know what would make realtors happy, the right client. You know, the one that’s rational and listens to your good advice! Hmm… maybe I’m on to something here.

So what technology does the industry need? I’m thinking, a Google Maps + Listings + Lava Life mash up. People don’t only need the right listing but also the right Realtor, and vice versa!

You heard it here first. Unless you heard it somewhere else, then I’d appreciate it if you sent me a link. :)