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CENTURY 21’s Australasian chairman, Charles Tarbey, is a firm believer that technology can be a positive for the industry, but too much reliance on it might undermine the ancient agent art of negotiation.
“What all of us have been calling disruptors, I have chosen personally to look at it as constructive evolution,” Mr Tarbey said.
Mr Tarbey has noticed, particularly recently, that the real estate model has not changed to take advantage of the technology in the marketplace.
“I started to understand that as an industry we were not in line with other industries. If we were able to just get the listing rather than going out to create the entire concept to get the listing, then I believe our business models would be far more efficient,” Mr Tarbey said.
He went on to say that getting a listing is entirely based on how the person is performing that day, but it doesn’t have to be.
“I believe real estate practitioners have the opportunity to utilise technologies to enhance their presentations in real time and deliver to a seller real quality information, rather than a presentation based on a sales pitch.
“The least amount they say, and the more work technology does, I believe the better.”
However, the chairman said that one element of sales where technology cannot beat a personal touch is in the art of negotiation.
“Building the relationship between the buyer and the seller is absolutely critical,” Mr Tarbey continued.
For the past few years, there has been no form of negotiating needed because the lack of supply has been the negotiating tool, but that is changing, Mr Tarbey said.
“Areas across Australia are starting to recognise the fact that their vendor communication levels are far more important and the ability to bring the buyer and selling together is required,” the chairman said.
According to him, the past has meant that the ability to negotiate has been forgotten and agents cannot rely on technology to do it.
He said: “A lot of that negotiating platform has disappeared and what has taken over is emails and phone calls to buyers and sellers negotiating without any connection or any relationship.
“Putting in a negotiating platform that is electronic doesn’t bring into play people’s angle or views on each other because it’s completely anonymous.”
CENTURY 21 announced late last year the launch of a new platform that would integrate with data from multiple sources, along with a “smart search” function to allow more nuanced searches.
This is one of a few new platforms launched by the network all designed to ensure that their agents are supported by the right technologies.
Mr Tarbey has been in the industry since 1972 and has been in his current position since 1995.
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