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WATCH: Why do people not work again with Realtors they love?

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The real estate industry’s biggest obstacle to growth, in one word, is “influence,” Chris Stuart, the CEO of HSF Affiliates and CEO Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices, said during a virtual Inman Connect session titled, “Leadership Lessons and Growth Strategies for the New Year.”

Right now, people are only buying houses based on life events, Stuart explained. In the past 20 years, the U.S. economy has added approximately 20 million households, and yet, outside of the boom leading up the Great Recession, yearly transaction volume has been roughly 5 million transactions.

“We’re not influencing our industry in the same way our other professional service industries are influencing their industries,” Stuart said in conversation with Clelia Peters.

Watch the entire video above, for free, as a special Inman Select subscriber benefit.