New laws for agents and ‘disruptors’ in the industry are creating a dialogue around transparency. What does it mean for property managers and what should they expect in 2017?
The rise of online portals attempting to disrupt the real estate industry is allowing landlords and tenants to obtain information without a property manager.
While this could be perceived as a negative – something that could make a property manager’s job redundant in the long term – it’s more likely that it will result in PMs having to be more accountable for the information they provide.
“Transparency is about giving people directions and guides and helping them on the way,” LJ Hooker’s head of real estate, Chris Mourd, said at a recent REINSW panel.
For a property manager, this means tenants and landlords are bringing more knowledge to their meetings, and PMs need to be more prepared. Industry heads say this is good for the industry.
“We’ve got a generation of agents coming through who don’t even know the product. The consumer has an expectation that that agent knows the product they’re renting, knows the building, when it was built [and] has actually done their research on the product,” REINSW president John Cunningham said.
While the information your customers can locate online is now more easily available, it isn’t always reliable, and this is where PMs can show their worth.
“You can go to all the websites and press the rental valuation button five times and get five different answers, so I think the customer wants us [for reliable information]...” Morton Real Estate’s managing director Ewan Morton said.
Mr Morton said it is the PM’s job to share their expertise and knowledge with their clients, and ensure they are transparent in all their dealings.
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