Getting Paid Now and in the Future (Part 1 of 5): Intro

Our business is changing.

There are more Aspen Glenwood Springs Multiple Lisitng Service (AGSMLS) member agents than ever before.

Although the number of listings in our market area has gone up over the past year we continue to experience historically low available listing inventory (i.e. less “business” to go around).

More buyers than ever are going directly to listing agents to set up showings and also to negotiate purchase contracts (and often with the expectation of negotiating a lower total broker commission amount).

Sellers are increasingly negotiating (and sometimes demanding) lower broker listing agreement commissions.

It’s clear the “rules” of our “game” have changed.

And, that's before taking into account very real structural changes for how buyer's brokers will get paid as a result of the class-action and Department of Justice lawsuits working their way through the court system. There's a lot of rhetoric in the media about the future of the real estate business...topics such as potentially lower overall broker commission rates, a seismic shift in how brokers work with buyers and how brokers get paid.

Will this lead to a mass exodus of brokers from the real estate industry and/or lower overall broker commissions as some people are predicting?

Why wait to find out what the future might hold?

Instead of trying to keep up and adapt to the new “rules”, or waiting and hoping the future works out in our favor, let’s focus on our own business practices that:

- Align our financial interests with our clients’ interests and goals

- Keep ASSIR’s agents ahead of our competition

- Rewards those agents who are skilled real estate professionals (i.e. those who know the business, know the market and create value)

How?

Focus on the different opportunities within the three primary sources of broker commissions, and know how to capitalize on each potential source of income:

1. Sales commissions - representing buyers and/or sellers

2. Rental commissions - representing tenants and/or landlords

3. Referrals - maximizing sales and rental referral clients

This email is Part 1 (the intro) of a 5 part series I will be sending out each day this week to help spark your thoughts, knowledge, questions...and hopefully push you to recognize the best talking points and opportunities for success going forward that apply to you personally.

Part 2 will cover representing buyers, Part 3 sellers, Part 4 rentals and Part 5 referrals.

I’ve often said that there’s a third “market force” in addition to supply & demand that dictates Aspen Snowmass area real estate prices – that third force is our local broker community. In the past I believe we as brokers have influenced the direction of the market with our cocktail party chatter, market reports, emails, anecdotes and general attitudes about the strength (or lack thereof) of the local real estate market…now it’s clear that we need to be much more tuned in to how we get paid (and by who), and that sales commissions structure & amount will also have an influence on the market. This topic matters more than ever, and will make a significant impact on your pocket book over the long term…hopefully in a positive way if you are knowledgeable, prepared and focused on serving your clients in a way they see and appreciate the value you bring to them.

Just like everything we do in the real estate business, there's always more to learn and while I certainly won't be able to cover every angle or aspect of the potential changes going forward my plan is to provide thoughts and responses to the many, many questions and conversations I've been having over the past several weeks and months with members of our ASSIR team. Jennifer Irwin and David Harris will also be providing various communications, classes and additional opportunities for you to have appropriate and successful conversations with your buyers, sellers and clients.

Rest assured, ASSIR will continue to seek out the best educational opportunities and resources for all of you to remain at the tip of the spear with changes in our industry, our business and our market.