MU: We have been looking for a partner for years and now is the perfect time to look for one as we now have over 130 offices worldwide.
We believe that real estate commissions are truly condensed. So, to survive as a brokerage firm, you really need to consider different ways to improve your customer service and customer experience. But we can monetize that experience so that we can actually maintain revenue, so that we can deliver an experience to agents, so that agents can deliver an experience to consumers, and so that everyone can continue to have that full service. There is also a need to transform. Mediation.
If you don’t want a full-service brokerage, there are plenty of companies that offer a different experience, but there are still many consumers who want a full-service brokerage and a complete luxury experience. For us to do that, we need to be able to support it through a variety of ancillary businesses.
JA: As agent commissions continue to fall, recent research has shown that many brokers are no longer profitable at low interest rates. What type of brokerage firm do you think could protect you from potentially significantly lower fees?
MU: Intermediaries with ancillary businesses and the ability to generate revenue through resources outside of brokerage operations. Given the fact that there was such commission compression between brokers and agents, agents now received more commission than brokers received.
It’s because of competition, because all these companies are competing for talent and are actually going after agents. The reality is that the amount of money brokers currently receive through commissions is not enough for them to survive. Other sources of income are essential to our success. If you lower that 3% fee to 2%, brokerages are already barely surviving. It may be very difficult for brokerage firms to survive unless they find other sources of income.
JA: Tell us about what you do at The Agency when it comes to recruiting and tracking agents.
MU: We’re also hiring, but the truth is that it’s an unhealthy cycle for the industry and for brokers. That’s my personal opinion.
There are 1.5 million real estate professionals in this country. Limited quantity. I would say half of them actually work and make money, so there are about 750,000 real estate professionals, which is not that many.
We are all fighting for the same profession. The way to fight for them is by improving their packages, offering better splits, etc. I believe in freedom of competition, but what’s really happening is just movement of people. Some of us are winning a little more, some of us are losing a little more. But at the end of the day, it’s just a game of musical chairs with a loser.
The truth is that the losers in this are small independent businesses, and it’s sad because small independent businesses are what we should be protecting. We’re in a situation where it’s important to be part of a big brand, one that has global reach, national reach, amazing technology, the best marketing and networks. This is amazing. We at The Agency have 130 offices worldwide, so we know we benefit from this. I think that’s fine because we benefit from this, but I don’t think it’s good for the industry.
JA: Is agent recruitment and competition particularly fierce right now?
MU: I didn’t hire him. You want to be part of The Agency because you believe in what we do and believe in what we have to offer. We have a very strong recruitment team to counter the ongoing mass recruitment. Is it a trend? I don’t know. All I know is that I had to do it to play chess and protect myself from what was out there.
JA: How are agencies grappling with this brave new world we’re in as a result of the NAR settlement?
MU: There’s a lot of noise going on in the industry and a lot of changes happening in settlements, but at the end of the day, companies need to be able to communicate with their agents and properly educate them on how to do these types of negotiations. . of things.
Analyzing how commissions are paid, commissions have always been paid by the buyer, not the seller. The buyer is paying the seller for the property. That money comes from somewhere. Although the seller may be splitting the commission among multiple people, the commission is still paid by the buyer.
Commissions are always negotiable. I don’t even know where the idea that there are standards came from. I have been negotiating commissions for 29 years. I have never received a standard commission. I think that was a misguided defensive strategy by the National Association of Realtors. We’ve all paid a lot of money for something we thought we shouldn’t have paid a lot of money for, but we did.
Real estate agents who don’t embrace this new world will be left behind. At the end of the day, I don’t think it will matter much to us. I think it’s a big noise, and we’re all learning how to deal with it. But the bigger impact is economics.
JA: As a former fashion brand owner, are there any current fashion trends that you like or find particularly interesting?
MU: I love that question. I fell in love with interior design. The Italian interior and furniture are very cool. It’s very unique. When it comes to actual fashion, I know we all like to dress casually, but we would love to see that suit come back.
Also, although I like the label, I don’t want to see it anymore. Like, let’s get rid of Dior everywhere. I think we should start moving away from large labels printed all over elegant things. I think that’s the way to go.
JA: I got a new suit that I really like, so I recently went to the ballet just to wear it. I will be wearing this for my next interview, so please let me know what you think.
MU: That’s good. We can go to the ballet.
