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Competition among franchises for top agents is fierce, but one real estate leader thinks the future of real estate lies with the individual.
In a recent episode of Secrets of the Top 100 Agents podcast, UrbanX boss Dan Argent revealed how franchises and even independent agencies are becoming irrelevant.
“People don’t list with franchise brands, or even independent brands; they list with the individual agents,” Mr Argent told host Phil Tarrant.
“I believe that’s where the future lies.”
Mr Argent reflected on a time when the traditional model of being part of a brand and in an office to capture buyers and sellers was an appropriate way to do business.
But, at the turn of the century, the internet transformed the way buyers and sellers engage with agents.
“Now if a buyer wants to buy in an area, they just get online. They look through the listings, they contact the agent, and they go and meet that agent at the property,” Mr Argent said.
“Sellers no longer need to list with a local agency. In fact, sellers list with the local agents. They list with the agents that are dominant in their area.”
As a result, many should be asking, “What’s the actual point of the local office now?”
Mr Argent noted how buyers and sellers had not come into his office for years, and that he thinks it is poor service if an agent does not go and meet them at their property.
Mr Argent believes if an agent wants to get that business, a brand is essential.
“But the only brand that’s really imperative is the agent’s own brand,” he said.
“The smart agents of this next decade that’s about to start will build their own personal brand, and they will invest more into that, and they won’t invest into some silly franchise brand that they just don’t need anymore.”
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