Something’s Gotta Change

Compass successfully executed on the Anywhere merger. A historic day for all of us.

As stated on the Compass website, today represents a transformative day. Robert Reffkin’s position of consumer choice, now empowering more than a dozen real estate brands, will serve and honor all real estate professionals and their clients. 

Please do not confuse consumer choice with consumer mandates. Our industry has been too tolerant of demands, constrictive rules, and in some circumstances, fines.

In my opinion, the unification of these world class brands, leadership teams, franchisees, professional staff, and 200,000 US-based real estate professionals will inevitably lead to US organized real estate and the MLSs to recognizing who their clients are, and for portals to respect and serve real estate professionals, and their clients.

My business career has been shaped by this United Airlines commercial from 1990, referred to as Speech. It was in response to a large client that had fired United as their carrier of choice.

United’s business practices had strayed from client-focused face-to-face meetings and handshakes to impersonal faxes — remember those? In our industry, it used to be the MLSs and organized real estate served the brokerage businesses, now they seem to create rules to benefit their own business models. The portals long since abandoned respect for “exclusive listing” content.

Maybe it’s time the businesses that serve the real estate professionals, “get on an airplane and go see their clients,” or in other words, it’s time for them to listen and in turn shape a compelling offering. If not for “three-way agreements,” real estate professionals would have a choice, and the membership rolls at organized real estate would be significantly compromised.

Today is a catalyst for change for our entire industry. The leadership team at Compass says I have many “Mark-isms.”

A few are “pick up the phone,” “come and get it,” and “people are afraid of the dark.”

These all relate to interpersonal forms of communication. They each include empathy for the appropriate audience. This will never be replaced by control, rules, fines, or even AI.

Today is a new beginning. The real estate profession will be the core focus of Compass International Holdings. It is my hope that everyone will see that real estate professionals and their clients are the lifeblood of residential real estate in the United States, and we all must treat them with dignity, respect, and most of all, as clients.

“Something’s gotta change.” That’s the Mark-ism for today. 

The commercial finishes with “I am going to see that old friend that fired us this morning.”

This is Where We Are Now!

Thanks!
Mark