Chris Kelly isn’t buying what Compass is selling.
The HomeServices of America CEO said proponents of private listing networks (PLNs) aren’t out to help consumers — they’re out to help themselves. He likened the PLN strategy to the TV industry’s streaming model, which has forced consumers to subscribe to multiple platforms just to watch their favorite movie or series. Now, consumers, once enamored with Netflix, Hulu, and HBO Max, are yearning for the days of cable.
“Yeah, I think we’re all pursuing sometimes our own agenda,” he said at Inman Connect New York on Thursday. “So all of us were extremely excited to cut the cable, right? You probably told your friend or your family, ‘I want to cut the cable.’ Now you have Apple TV, Disney+, Netflix, and Paramount… And how many of you are saying now, ‘Couldn’t someone just bundle these things together?'”
“We’re in the same spot, right? We’re running down this road, and they’re thinking in the short term, what does it mean right now for my personal benefit if we were to do this with content or do that with content?” he added. “And then I’m a consumer staying in the middle of New York City, Omaha, Kansas City, Miami, or wherever… And now I have to go to 12 different places to watch the shows I want or see listings I think may be for sale. Tell me how that is putting the consumer first or how that’s a good experience?”
Kelly said he agrees that brokerages should try to reclaim “the leverage” lost over the past 10 to 15 years. But he isn’t convinced private listing networks are the way to go. “Is it ultimately better for the consumer? I haven’t seen the picture painted yet,” he said. The comments touched on a ubiquitous theme at this year’s Connect, with leaders from across the industry repeatedly debating access to listings while on stage.
Engel & Völkers Americas President and CEO Stuart Siegel seconded Kelly’s sentiment, saying brokerages have fallen into the trap of ultimately putting transactions before relationships.
“I think that’s where we sometimes go sideways as an industry. It’s ‘How do we get the deal closed?’ rather than ‘How do we preserve relationships with the customer?'”
Kelly and Siegel said technology — another hot-button topic at ICNY — is an important part of improving the consumer experience.
Inside Real Estate CEO Joe Skousen picked up the baton from the duo, noting that 55 percent of all software tasks people engage with today will be automated. However, he asked conference attendees to be thoughtful about how they use artificial intelligence, saying that most brokers don’t have the financial leverage to simply throw money at the latest shiny object.
“Finding transformation with technology is all about — coming from the tech person — it is not just about the tech,” he said. “It’s all about clarity on that strategy, clarity on those metrics, and how will the tech solve that specific problem.”
“And if you don’t know that, you can shop for your tech as we have for decades and still not solve that problem. That is your number one problem: How are you the enemy to yourself?” he added. “Don’t get clear on that, and you will be in the same spot you are one year from now.”
Skousen said brokers who learn to effectively leverage AI can “triple their productivity” this year and build the foundation for long-lasting consumer trust. In addition to technology, Kelly said the winners of the next generation of real estate are those who embrace their differences.
“We’ve talked a lot over the last month about consolidations in the industry and what that comes after,” he said. “This is an awesome opportunity for everyone to be different. The worst mistake that we make to ourselves is that we try to be similar to or better than or compare ourselves to real estate across the street, to the brokerage across the street.”
“When I see consolidation happening, that’s homogenization happening. It’s similarity spreading,” he added. “This is an incredible opportunity to be different and lean into what makes you different than everybody else. The worst thing you can do is try to be the same as these other three companies or these other three people.”
