‘Playmakers’: The brokerage strategy that’s losing steam 

Editor's note: The Playmakers podcast explores the biggest shifts in real estate with those who are shaping the industry's future. Check out our top takeaways and watch the latest episode from host Andrew Flachner, co-founder of RealScout.

The views, thoughts and opinions expressed in the Playmakers podcast belong solely to the podcast creators and guests.

On this episode of the Playmakers podcast, T3 Sixty President and CEO Jack Miller says he wants real estate professionals to take advantage of the shifting market landscape.

From decades-low home sales to the emergence of artificial intelligence to real estate's consolidation trend and more, "the industry is experiencing a lot right now," Miller acknowledged. But this is also "a tremendous time of opportunity."

"When everybody is holding their breath, the people that are able to take action can really make a huge impact in their business going forward," he said. At T3 Sixty, "we see it as an opportunistic time, even though it is very challenging for many brokers in the industry."

Note: Real Estate News is an editorially independent division of T3 Sixty.

A 'natural moment' for consolidation: While most industries go through cycles of consolidation, "the difference in real estate is that it is still very easy to get licensed and open a brokerage," so "we're always going to have small companies entering the industry," Miller said.

"We're at a natural moment where we're seeing a lot of consolidation due to the challenges in the market, the demographics of brokerage leadership, and just the fact that I think it's a lot harder to run a brokerage today than it was maybe 20 or 25 years ago," he noted.

An ideal regulatory environment? The Compass-Anywhere merger closed much faster than most people expected. But that won't necessarily happen with every merger.

The speed of that deal "tells you that Compass' team knows how to navigate both the relationships and the regulatory environment that we currently exist in," Miller said.

"I don't know if it signals a broader change" in the regulatory process, he added. "Regimes change; regulatory environments change. That may be different in two years."

The strategy losing momentum: Being "an everything to everybody" kind of brokerage is "becoming a lot harder to pull off," Miller said. Whether a firm is focused on size or creating higher income for agents, "our coaching for broker/owners is, know what model you're in" — and don't worry about the agents who leave.

"Your agents are going where they see that the opportunity fits them. If their opportunity is different than what you're providing, don't lose any sleep over it, and go get the right people into your brokerage and power them up and provide the value proposition to them — because they'll stick around."

The future of PLNs depends on consumers: While industry debate over private listing networks has intensified over the past year or so, it's the consumer who "ultimately will decide about the success" of these marketing strategies, Miller said.

"There's a legitimate consumer story here about what's best for the consumer — what serves the seller best, what serves the buyers best? And fundamentally, if the phones stop ringing in this kind of buyers market that we're in right now, I think sellers are going to demand more and more exposure."

'Compass has forced a response': For now, the industry's approach to pre-MLS listings is still evolving. Miller described last week's launch of Zillow Preview, which allows partner brokerages to share pre-market listings on the site, as "a very potent counter move" to Compass' 3-phased marketing strategy. 

"It's using Zillow's strength — in consumer recognition and brand recognition as the top real estate portal — to its fullest advantage," he said.

The value of the MLS: Brokerages and portals may be testing the off-MLS waters, Miller said, but "these things come in cycles where, at some point people are going to say, 'You know what, that MLS thing that we came up with — that was pretty darn efficient.'"

In addition to being "the most efficient system for getting listings in front of buyers agents and buyers ever invented," the MLS ensures listing data quality and compliance — and it provides data protection. "If I've got four or five listings, and Big Tech Company A is doing things with them that are not allowed, I'm not going to file a lawsuit," Miller said. "But the MLS will take that burden on."

"It's not talked about enough how valuable that kind of service is, in addition to all the other things that the MLS empowers," Miller said.

Don't slow down just because the market did: "We are in this stage of acceleration, and we're going to be in it for a while. And if you don't respond, you are making a choice," Miller said.

But the slow housing market has its benefits. "The people that are acting are producing results," he said. Now is the best time "to invest in your technology systems," he added. "Invest in your learning about how to apply AI. Invest in the conversations you have with others about the market. Invest in your agents. Help them grow and make it through what is — probably for many of them — a tough period in their career."