Maryland REALTORS® Online

Lessons from the Past Can Help Today

By Chuck Kasky

CEO of Maryland REALTORS^®

I re-read a column I wrote 4 short years ago while we were in the midst of what was, at that time, a period of great uncertainty and upheaval. Sound familiar? Our response to COVID-19 taught us a lot.

I said then what I want to say now: change is normal. Perhaps the rate of change is exhausting, but we should not be surprised by this. Think about the pace of change in the technology we use every day. Think about how we conduct business now compared to how we operated 5–7 years ago. And I guarantee that over the next 5–7 years we’ll experience even more change. Now apply that to pretty much every part of our lives.

When I first began talking about change and how disorienting it can be, I wasn’t even thinking about autonomous vehicles or AI. There is a temptation to remember “normal” like it was a perfect, balanced state to which we will inevitably return. It is what we know, and it is comfortingly familiar, so it’s tempting to glorify it and to hold onto it. Yet we need to operate in the now and look forward, not try to find our way back to “normal.” The “normal” we once knew is now history.

Good business strategy looks forward, not backward. By not obsessing over what the world once looked like and wishing things worked out differently, we can see what the future could look like and how we can begin to shape that reality now.

Let’s imagine things differently. We know for sure that cooperative compensation is gone from the MLS. Forever. What takes its place is a matter for us to figure out together and let the market take us to the place that makes the most sense.

It is critical to remember that no matter what we plan for, the reality we face when the time comes could very well be different from what we imagined it would be. We can’t predict how buyers and sellers will react to our conversations about compensation, but we can be prepared to educate them on the real estate market, how the transaction works, and the pros and cons of choosing one option over another.

By the time you read this, you will be familiar with the new forms and have worked on your scripts to educate buyers and sellers about their options and strategies. We will be constantly asking for your input into how it’s going, what are the sticking points, and how we can adjust to the market as it evolves.

We are making educated guesses, based on the world we can see, and we are thinking our way forward. I abhor predictions because they’re almost always wrong. Just look back at any economic forecast about when the U.S. economy will go into a recession. HINT: All the economists were wrong! (an aside: I heard one economist apologize for missing it.) That said, I will make a prediction in which I have reasonable certainty: we will have to adjust our thinking over the next 6, 12, or 18 months. This includes our forms and training. Another lesson from COVID is that success requires us to be nimble and flexible and unafraid of revisiting decisions.

Amid all this uncertainty, there is a constant. Maryland REALTORS^® will never lose sight of our mission, which is to support REALTORS^®, to advocate on your behalf, and to provide you with the tools and information you need to succeed. That is our job, and we are doing it. We will never lose sight of that. We will continue to lead with our value. Very soon you will hear the details of an extensive consumer campaign in which we stress not just our “value” but our “worth.”

I’m excited about what we can do right now. We will start every conversation from a place that encourages creativity and problem-solving. We will ask how we can renew and continue to do things that help our members where they are today and where they will be in the future.