'Unfiltered': Data, influence and the fate of part-time agents
Watch the conversation with media exec Clayton Collins as he discusses how agents can leverage news and information, and the “continued flight to quality.”
NextHome CEO James Dwiggins has emerged as a significant voice on the topics that are shaping the real estate industry: lawsuits, innovation, leadership. But Dwiggins doesn't just answer questions, he asks them of guests on Real Estate Insiders Unfiltered, his podcast with Keith Robinson, NextHome's chief strategic officer.
On this week's episode of Real Estate Insiders Unfiltered, HousingWire CEO Clayton Collins discusses how he got into the media business and where the company might go next.
He also explains how agents can help consumers understand what's really going on in the market and offers his thoughts on why changes in the industry won't actually lead to "massive disruption."
Watch now to learn more: "We have a big ambition of building out the full picture of data and information and news that helps housing professionals make better decisions and be informed about the market," said Collins, who has leveraged his background in M&A to acquire companies and hire individuals in pursuit of that goal.
Agents can then use that data to help educate consumers — while increasing their credibility at the same time: "If you're a housing professional trying to increase your influence," said Collins, you can "translate national headlines to local headlines… and then there's the other strategy of just talking about local market data, what you're seeing in your neighborhood or community."
But should agents be worried about their future? "I am not in the camp of massive disruption," said Collins. "I am in the camp that the strongest agents will likely aggregate more of the business, and there will be a continued flight to quality. And that might make it a harder industry for part-timers and newcomers."
"So can we better serve homebuyers and sellers if we have a smaller number of great agents who have skills that they develop through repetition and doing lots of deals and advising lots of clients? Yes. Would that be a good thing for the market? Probably. Will it make it harder to have a diverse, inclusive profession that anybody can come into? Yeah. So I think we have to be intentional about how we recruit the right people in and then how we train them and resource them as executives."
The views, thoughts and opinions expressed in the Real Estate Insiders podcast belong solely to the podcast creators and guests, and not Real Estate News.