Hello

In the year 2005 I was one year into my career in real estate, if you don’t count the work experience that I did at the tender age of 15. It’s fair to say that in many ways the industry has changed over that time. Some of the general basics have remained but the way business is conducted is quite different. There are many other ways selling real estate has changed but here are 8 of the main differences as of today.

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1. Communication. In 2005 we didn’t know what social media was, we were still 2 years from the iphone and basic email was around but is much more popular now. Therefore, agents can communicate with clients easier and more creatively. In 2005 you could go into an agency for a hard copy property report every few months if you wanted to, whereas now every agency sends out 1,000’s of e-newsletters on a weekly basis, some of them more often.
    

2. Private inspections. 20 years ago, you would have a buyer in your car and take them to 4 or 5 properties over a 2-hour period on almost a daily basis. Today it’s almost not an option. Agents just don’t see it as a good use of time. If you ask, maybe someone’s assistant will meet you at one property but not before they quiz you as to why you can’t attend the open house.
    

3. Writing up an offer. In 2005 you would meet an agent at his/her office and face to face negotiate with them while writing up an offer on a house. As a buyer you had to bring your a-game as the agents were very good at convincing you to go higher. Today you will be sent a contract that was pre-filled out with the offer that you discussed over the phone.
    

4. Where have all the mid-tier agents gone? Back in 2005 a real estate agency would often have 3-4 agents that worked on their own and they would sell 2-3 houses a month. Which is enough to make a good living. Now it seems you are either a highflyer or someone’s personal assistant. The highflyers might sell 10 houses a month and work with 1-3 assistants.
    

5. House presentation. It seemed that 20 years ago, real estate agents just wanted to get houses on the market asap. In a big improvement, today you will rarely inspect unclean houses or vacant properties. Agents are better at convincing sellers that by investing some money on presentation it will pay them back in the long run.
    

6. Office fronts. You might still see A4 brochures in some country agencies or less tech savvy businesses, but the days of shopping for a new house from a real estate agencies front window are just about gone. They have been replaced with high resolution monitors or large corporate logos.
    

7. Advertising. If you can, have a look at a house photo from 2005. It will be dark and a little grainy. Today 99% of agencies use professional photography and the quality for the price is amazing. The quality of agencies advertising in general has really improved over the years. Unfortunately, this has been reflected in heavy price increase also.
    

8. Vendor feedback. In the interests of efficiency, vendor feedback has changed significantly over the years. In 2005 you would receive a word document maybe once a week with a general impression from buyers that had visited the house. Now you can get internet stats as well as individual buyer feedback almost at real time.
    

So, the big question is, has real estate changed for the better over the last 20 years? I would say that it has. Agents are more confident when advising clients on how to present their house for sale and the digital presentation is a huge improvement. Information is easier to manage for the agent and better to consume for sellers and buyers.

 

Overall businesses have become more systemised and better equipped when it comes to handling busy times. One point that was probably better 20 years ago was an agent’s ability to handle face to face negotiating. Overall though you could argue that it has become a bit of a one size fits all approach but I’d say that real estate agents are doing a better job today than they were 20 years ago.