The Bottom Line
- As always with this report, the research is extensive and very timely.
- More analysis of business models would have been welcome.
Description
- Excess and Results - An analysis of the huge increase in agent numbers, mortgage abuses and their impact.
- Local Association Outlook - Consolidations, education issues, and possible loss of the MLS threaten the status quo.
- Globalization - If we cannot adapt to accommodate foreign-born and immigrant clients, will others come in and do it for us?
- Just the Tip - Reading on will take you to increasingly more important real estate trends.
Guide Review - Real Estate Business Trends Resource - The Swanepoel Report 2007
In the Preface, the tone is set for how the reader should view these trends in the scheme of time. With a chart of major developments condensing 3000 years into 60 minutes, Stefan Swanepoel notes that Gutenberg would have invented the printing press 11 minutes ago, and the internet would be just twelve seconds old. With this in mind, the reader gains a sense of urgency in studying these trends and perhaps developing an action plan for their business or local association.
It's clear that a huge amount of research went into this book and into the ordering of the trends. One gets a sense, as we step through them, of building a process from "how we got to this point", through immediate actions for consumer reach, to longer term planning that must begin now.
