Agents Decoded: Finding opportunities in change 

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August 17 is rapidly approaching. That is the day when the new NAR rules related to MLS fields and buyer agent agreements go into effect.

If you spend more than three minutes with a group of real estate agents, in person or online, you will hear comments like:

"This is going to change everything."
"This will change nothing."
"Buyer agency is over."
"Agents are going to leave the industry in droves."
"I need a new career."

It goes on and on. FUD (fear, uncertainty, and doubt) reigns supreme.

Change is constant

The FUD is understandable. These are significant changes, and we as an industry have never been through a moment like this. 

We have, however, been through many other significant changes over the years. And each time, they seemed equally devastating.

With hindsight, you can look back now and think, "People were worried about that?" Yes, they were, just like many today are terrified of August 17. 

A few examples of existential threats that actually weren't:

The Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA), enacted in 1974, would spell the end of lender/agent relationships.

When buyer agency was introduced in the early 1990s, agents and brokers were horrified at the thought of sharing commissions with another agent. The resulting slice in pay would all but end real estate as we knew it.

Electronic signatures were going to cripple the opportunity for agents to get face-to-face with their clients. Consumers would be "signing" documents that would lead to nothing but problems for everyone.

Then the internet came along, and it changed everything. Buyers wouldn't need agents, because they could just find homes online. Agents and brokers would lose all control because consumers would no longer be forced into offices to view listings. Zillow, Trulia and other listing portals had one goal: to eliminate real estate agents.

Many people worried that flat-fee brokerages, discount brokerages, MLS consolidation, the financial crisis, COVID, and even the Fair Housing Act would spell the end of our livelihoods.

Yet here we are, almost 20 years after Zillow launched, and agents haven't been replaced by listing portals.

Agents, and consumers, adore everything about electronic signatures. They have made the buying and selling process more efficient.

No one doubts that buyer agents are necessary.

The changes coming on August 17 are scary because it is human nature to resist change and fear the unknown. It's hard, even impossible for some, to realize that change often leads to opportunity.

Consider the opportunities

"Without change, there is no innovation, creativity, or incentive for improvement." —American physicist William Pollard

Countless experts agree with Dr. Pollard. Change, often very significant change, has led to increased innovation, greater creativity and gains in efficiency. These are good things.

Consider this:

• Buyer-broker agreements help both agents and consumers. I've never met a single agent or broker who takes a listing without a written agreement. Why? Because it helps protect them, as well as protect and educate their client. There are already 18 states that require written buyer agency agreements. Agents in those states frequently say it was difficult at first, but now they can't imagine doing business without them. Agent counts in those 18 states have not plummeted. Nor have sales or earnings.

(And for those lamenting how hard it is to get a buyer to sign an agreement, remember: After August 17, it will be an even playing field, with all agents requiring a signed agreement.)

• Change can lead to increased competition. Yes, this is a good thing. Just as change leads to innovation, creativity and improvements, so does competition. It's good to have different brokerage and compensation models. When athletes compete, they raise the level of their performance. When businesses compete, they raise their level of performance. Raising your performance leads to more business for you.

• Fewer agents isn't necessarily a bad thing. I hope that none of us wish ill will on our peers, but if agents do "leave the industry in droves," what does that mean for those who adapt and remain? Simple — they have access to more available transactions.

• Navigating change builds self confidence. When you overcome challenges, you gain confidence, and that's a quality clients look for.

Change is hard. It is also inevitable. You can either learn, adapt and accept the change and the challenge, or choose not to. 

Over the decades, the real estate industry has been through many changes — small, significant, and sweeping — and it has not only survived, it has grown and thrived.

Jay Thompson is a former real estate agent, broker-owner and industry outreach director. He is currently an industry consultant and sits on several boards. The views expressed in this column are solely those of the author.