It’s hard to believe that another decade has come and gone. Y2K is two decades in the rearview mirror, the Great Recession is now ten years past.

We have been witness to the recovery of the housing market; the growth of low-fee model brokerages; the emergence of iBuyers; countless mergers, acquisitions, and consolidation of well-known brands; and the rise of tech-driven… everything. The list could go on.

The reality is that real estate will continue to see innovation and disruption in the decade ahead.

Differing business models can work together

Frankly, real estate dealing with disruption is not unlike other industries. I began my career in hospitality and I’ll happily point out that there are many similarities between the two.

When Airbnb took off a number of years ago, we held countless advisory meetings and studies to understand how this new-age business model would impact our hotel clients. Would Airbnb eat into hotel revenue? (That’s a loaded question). Would it create its own new share of the market? (It did). Will Airbnb’s model even survive? (You bet).

Airbnb is my “perfect storm” example of a disruptor’s impact on an industry. The company realized a new type of traveler had emerged and focused on a clear business model. More importantly, however, Airbnb’s success pressured hoteliers to stop worrying about what they could not control.

The result? Hotels looked inward and enhanced their own product offerings and the two business models now coexist — because both are appealing options to consumers. Real estate take note! It’s time to see that your brokerage can exist in spite of disruption.

Concentrate on what you can control

Consumers are savvier than ever, but more often than not, buyers and sellers still need your agents to bring them across the finish line. Agents must work in harmony with the new expectations of clients. Brokers need to ensure their agents are given the right tools to be successful.

Be like the hoteliers and sharpen your focus. Concentrate on what decisions you can make. What can you do to enhance client and agent experiences? How can you make your brand stand out from the rest? What powerful new tools might you need?

Consider bringing on a real estate platform, like Propertybase. Let us help build a foundational tech stack that effectively brings you into the next decade, allowing you to focus less on technology and more on your business. We’ll make sure you’re able to:

• Build beautiful brokerage and agent websites that capture user attention and showcase your brokerage’s expertise
• Create automated marketing campaigns that save agents time and improve client experiences
• Seamlessly process compliant transactions that reduce your brokerage’s liability
• Improve long-term client retention
• Set your agents up for success and improve recruitment

Implementing a powerful tool sends a statement to your employees, clients, and competitors. It says that you’re focused to take on the challenges ahead.

The Propertybase Real Estate Platform is the trusted technology partner of over 2,000 leading real estate franchises, brokerages and teams. Propertybase consists of core modules that simplify the business of real estate: lead generation, IDX and MLS-integrated websites, real estate CRM, transaction management, back office tools, business analytics, and much more. Learn more and request a demo here.