Salesperson or Consultant?

Had another dream last night that made an impression. In the dream I was in a university setting having some dialogue in a lecture hall -- don't think I was the professor, but I wasn't a student either--maybe it was a seminar? The topic involved how knowledge is conveyed. What can be conveyed via written instructions and what is better understood with personal attention in a mentoring environment. The example I used in the dream focused on distinguishing different fruit vs distinguishing different varieties of a specific fruit--perhaps not the ideal example, but that's how dreams work--and my ex wife offered to share some apples she'd purchased earlier in the day--LOL.

Being able to tell apples from pears is pretty darn easy--written guide should do fine--probably wouldn't even need pictures. On the other hand there are a huge number of apple varieties out there now. Many of the my favorites from my youth are rarely seen, but there are hybrids galore. If you didn't had labels on the bins, how would you tell them apart--the printed word would probably not get the job done very well. Photos would improve the process, but might not get down to subtle differences. You might need to sniff, cut them open and taste them to actually distinguish them all.

So what's the dream got to do with real estate? That's kinda what I wondered when I woke up about 3AM, but I quickly flashed on the connection (that's rare for me at 3AM--usually go back to sleep and forget the dream entirely).

Compared with the other professions involved in creating and transferring ownership of the nations housing, real estate agents spend very little time learning their craft and little of that time is spent learning about houses. Most of it is spent learning arcane State laws and the even more convoluted approaches to managing risk arising from those laws that are dreamed up by the state association attorneys--in the form of a growing stack of forms nearly no one understands or even reads.

Architects go to college, serve as draftsmen, work under supervision of experienced architects, attend workshops etc etc. Contractors complete courses, take tests, after most have chalked up considerable practical experience. Other trades have the benefit of apprentice systems where the craftsmanship of generations is handed down to cabinet makers, tile setters, etc.

How much time does the average agent spend really studying the houses they list and sell? Not nearly as much. There seems to be a tacit assumption that the Buyer knows what they want and will light up like a Christmas tree when they see it. Gee, that sounds like agents are salespeople more than consultants.

Car salespersons (shudder--LOL!) aren't held in particularly high esteem, but I bet most have at least sat in, and probably driven all the models of the makes they sell. If car salespersons worked like real estate agents they'd not be attached to one dealer--a car salesperson would accompany you to all the car lots and help you purchase whatever make and model you desired---whether they'd had any personal experience with that model or not.

One of the reasons this topic is important is energy efficiency, AB 32 requirements, Climate Action Plans and the state and national association's position on point of sale energy ratings and retrofits. It seems getting traction among agents to incorporate green thinking into their approach to business is going to be difficult.
There's a possible chicken and egg relationship with the trade association policies. Are the policies that clearly encourage the agents to attempt "business as usual" for as long as possible driven by long standing philosophical principles? Alternatively, the trade associations may know that the agents, whose business behavior has been largely created by trade association education, code of ethics and one size fits all paperwork, aren't likely to rush gleefully into a rather technical arena placing new expectations in the minds of Buyers (and hence Sellers).  Agents may need to undertake some heavy lifting to understand factors that combine to create energy efficiency (or lack thereof).

The prior to marketing energy rating (HERS II, for example) is an easy way around this issue, but that's not consistent with trade association policy. The trade associations evidently believe Buyers should NOT have access to information about energy efficiency prior to their decision about which is the RIGHT house to purchase.  That raises the question of HOW MUCH expertise an agent should apply in assisting the Buyer in evaluating similar houses for energy use. Obviously Buyers can hire a HERS II rater, but are they going to do that for several houses on their short list at $300-$400 each? Not likely. At present there are few HERS II tests being done at all and there is no central repository of tests---if there were, one could at least see what the HERS II ratings were on roughly similar houses and get a ballpark estimate. That's not even possible.

All this energy circus is taking place in front of a backdrop of Climate Action Plans and a requirement to achieve GHG emission reductions of 20% by 2020. Organized real estate is trying to take a pass on participation, but keeps trumpeting that they are at the center of every transaction---in what capacity?

Salesperson or Consultant?