RISMedia Founder and CEO John Featherston addresses a “Power Hour” pre-event session Wednesday at the company’s 2024 CEO & Leadership Exchange in Washington, D.C. Photo by AJ Canaria
In a one-on-one session at RISMedia’s CEO & Leadership Exchange Wednesday, Compass founder and CEO Robert Reffkin was sharply critical of a national implementation of the Clear Cooperation rule, calling for swift change based on future risk, as well as ongoing investigations and lawsuits.
“I think risk comes from rules forcing buyers and sellers to do things…despite how beautiful the motivation is,” Reffkin said in a discussion with RISMedia Founder and CEO John Featherston.
More than 400 real estate professionals gathered for the kickoff of RISMedia’s 36th-annual event, the first major industry conference following the NAR-mandated rule changes going into effect on Aug. 17. Over 120 brokerage executives and industry experts participating in more than 30 presentations and panel discussions are addressing the most pressing issues in the industry over the course of the three-day event.
“Ready to Rebound: Getting Back to Business in the New Era of Real Estate,” the event theme, is taking place Sept. 4-6 at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington, D.C.
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The General Session opened Wednesday afternoon with RISMedia Founder & CEO John Featherston’s welcome remarks, followed by a keynote address from Buffini & Company CEO Dermot Buffini.
During his opening remarks, Featherston looked back at the historic changes that have engulfed the industry in the span of the past year, saying this year’s event–the first major industry gathering since the NAR-mandated rule changes took effect–“is like no other event in RISMedia’s 44-year history.
“One year ago, Anywhere announced their settlement of the Burnett lawsuit, the first defendant to do so,” Featherston said. “The now famous trial commenced about a month later, and we all know what has happened since then. Today we live with the significant changes forced upon our industry and the way we conduct business, changes that will be discussed in great detail during this conference. Since the verdict, a question that will linger for many years, the vast majority of brokerage owners, MLS leaders, team leaders, agents, coaches and trainers, carefully began to adapt to the ‘new normal’ and devise new strategies and best practices to ensure their organizations remain compliant and protected, while still properly servicing the needs of customers and clients.
“Necessity is the mother of invention…and innovation,” Featherston added. “All of us here will continue to adapt and innovate, no matter what the ‘new normal’ mandates us to do, or what the interest rate environment or inventory situation is…no matter what obstacles we face.”
With that, Featherston brought up the event’s first keynote speaker, Dermot Buffini, chief executive officer of Buffini & Company, who continued the discussion focusing on essential leadership qualities for “leading above the line” in the industry post NAR settlement.
“Below the line is where the chaos is. Where the toxicity is. Where the drama is. It’s part of the deal. As leaders, it comes with the territory. If you get stuck below the line, you will get left behind,” Buffini said, also adding, “There is a window of opportunity right now that is going to close, and we have the opportunity to raise the bar and raise the standards—and change the game.”
The state of real estate
Next, transitioning into a “The State of Real Estate,” presentation, Hoby Hanna, CEO of Howard Hanna Real Estate Services, offered insights into navigating in the market ahead with companies and agents more informed and thus better-able to serve their clients.
“I’m excited about this fourth quarter,” Hanna said. “This is the time where there is a flight to quality. Buyers will look to people who have the value proposition. Embracing this change will allow the best companies and agents to grow and improve.”
Another Hanna soundbite: “I do think that the customer, at the end of the day, chooses if we are doing it right.”
Regional Rookie of the Year winners announced
Featherston also revealed the highly anticipated five regional winners of RISMedia’s Second Annual Real Estate Rookie of the Year award. The award, designed to honor real estate agents who are new to the business yet achieving extraordinary results, is sponsored by industry education leader Colibri Real Estate.
Selected from the top 25 regional finalists and chosen from hundreds of nominations, the Top 5 Regional Rookie of the Year winners, representing five major regions of the U.S., are:
Midwest
Cole McNew
Coldwell Banker Haynes Real Estate
Michigan
Northeast
Liam Coonahan
REAL of Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
South
Heather Stenson
Connect Realty
Texas
Southeast
Jessica Bauer
Keller Williams Collective
Maryland
West
Victor Gutierrez
CENTURY 21 LOTUS
California
Watch for expanded coverage of the five regional Rookie of the Year winners in Thursday’s RISMedia Daily News. These winners are now in the running to become the national 2024 Real Estate Rookie of the Year, to be revealed and awarded during RISMedia’s Power Broker Reception & Dinner on Friday, November 8 in Boston, Massachusetts.
Event kicks off with ‘Power Hours’
Earlier Wednesday morning, kicking off three special “Power Hour” sessions available to full-access attendees, several industry Power Brokers hit the ground running sharing insights into how they’re navigating the historic changes in the industry following the NAR settlement at their companies, in a session titled, “The New Era of Buyer Agency.”
Outspoken industry advocate Anthony Lamacchia, CEO and broker/owner of Lamacchia Realty, Inc., while critical of the commission lawsuits, noted that the environment does provide new opportunities.
“Parts of this I hate, which is the fact that our industry has been attacked and I think it’s ridiculous, but parts of it are bringing very good opportunities,” Lamacchia said, one being greater participation and interest by agents in professional education. “Boy, you get a lot of attendance at training now. You get a lot of people tuned in and paying attention…when they are concerned about getting paid, they really do show up.”
Here are a few more insights from the kick-off Power Hour:
“Look at things as an opportunity versus a negative. This lawsuit, I think it’s ridiculous that we have it, but it is what it is. We can’t change it. So let’s roll, let’s move forward.”
– Tim Milam, CEO, Coldwell Banker Seacoast Advantage
“I have agents who’ve never done [buyer] consultations before, walk up to me and go…’That was so cool. I actually got them to sign the agreement. I followed the steps, I did this. And it was nothing.’ This is someone who’s been in the business for 20 years, and never did a buyer consultation in their life…but that’s because we never asked them to.”
– Jemila Winsey, CEO & Principal Broker, ERA Legacy Living
M&A strategies in an unpredictable market
In the next Power Hour, M&A expert Victor Lund, co-founder of WAV Group, moderated an overview of the current M&A landscape with brokers who have excelled at expanding their firms through mergers and acquisitions.
Panelists noted that opportunities abound when it comes to mergers and acquisitions, and, according to Amy Lessinger, president of RE/MAX, LLC, the climate is becoming more intense.
“The big thing with conversions, mergers and acquisitions is that the climate hasn’t changed in the last few years. If anything, it’s ramping up even more,” Lessinger stated.
Here are a few more comments from panelists on today’s M&A landscape:
“To have a good M&A game, you have to have a strong ground game. That puts pressure on competitive brokerages, which causes you to hit their radar. When you hit their radar and agents start talking about it, it gives agents the idea that maybe we are stronger together.”
-Rick Haase, President, United Real Estate
“Make sure you have a great story and a compelling value proposition of why people want to join you versus the local competitor. Find out what your key differentiators are and why agents want to be with you.”
-Chris Raveis, President of Residential Sales/Co-President of William Raveis, Inc., William Raveis Real Estate
“All great deals are about timing and opportunity coming into alignment. Don’t focus on how a company is performing. Instead, talk to everyone, build relationships with everyone and be consistent. When opportunity and timing align, you will be the chosen one.”
-Jason Waugh, President, Coldwell Banker Affiliates
How MLSs are adapting in the commission lawsuit era
In a dynamic Power Hour session moderated by Michael Wurzer, president and CEO of Financial Business Systems (FBS), many of the nation’s top MLS leaders offered valuable insights on how they are adapting their policies and overall organizations to respond to the current legal climate and address future broker needs.
Speaking on implementing the NAR settlement changes, Brian Donnellan, CEO of Bright MLS, said his organization is approaching the new mandates as something that will take more than just a couple of months to parse out.
“I think in this industry, people only go and find out when they need to go and find out. This is going to be a long process…we’re going to see this play out over time.”
Revisiting the benefits and risks of clear cooperation
In an exclusive one-on-one discussion with Featherston, “Revisiting the Benefits and Risks of Clear Cooperation,” Reffkin, addressing the audience of MLS and association executives, and brokerage leaders, was critical of Clear Cooperation. While describing himself as an “avid” supporter of the MLS system, he added that the industry needed to evolve to face new challenges, including the portals and regulatory pressure.
Watch for more coverage of Reffkin’s discussion in Thursday’s RISMedia Daily News.
Stay tuned to RISMedia for more reporting from our event each day, including coverage of the 2024 Real Estate Newsmakers Reception & Dinner where we will induct this year’s honorees including the Hall of Fame recipients, on Thursday evening, Sept. 5.
Don’t miss out on any coverage of RISMedia’s CEO & Leadership Exchange! Follow us on social media @rismediaupdates to keep up with our action-packed agenda, real-time updates and exclusive content!
For the complete agenda and speaker lineup, please visit our event page.
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