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At a recent REINSW panel on the 2017 NSW legislative changes, some industry leaders said they thought the changes were a much-needed jolt for agents to start taking transparency seriously.
“I think the consumer wants a good real estate agent. Part of the problem with transparency is us trusting in transparency. The availability of information now has forced us into a transparent environment,” Morton Real Estate managing director Ewan Morton said.
The hotly debated change in legislation for NSW agents is bringing more education and greater scrutiny to the industry, which Mr Morton believes will encourage increased transparency between agents and clients, something the industry needs.
“Most real estate agents in Sydney, from my observations, do not have the skill and ability to manage a transaction with a price guide in place. It’s a complete change of thinking that means that you participate in that sale very differently. You have to let go and empower,” BresicWhitney director Shannan Whitney said.
Mr Whitney is not the only agent who believes the new legislation will usher in a welcome change in business methods for agents who have previously relied on shady tactics to solicit high offers from buyers.
“I’ve never seen a price guide stop a great price being achieved. It’s about how skilled you are at bringing that competitive friction to the sales process. I think we’ve forgotten that we’re dealing with an asset. Most people in this industry just treat it as a sales transaction,” LJ Hooker’s head of real estate Chris Mourd said.
Mr Whitney said agents “continually fail to give the buyer the information they need”, evidence that the industry does not fully comprehend the meaning of transparency.
The new education requirements will force agents who previously thought real estate was a place they could make big sums of money with little industry knowledge to either leave or get up to scratch, according to the panel.
“[When it comes to education,] we go the fastest and cheapest route. We look at ways to get around legislation instead of understanding it,” Laing+Simmons managing director Leanne Pilkington said.
Pilkington said the new legislation will hopefully shake things up, a sentiment echoed by Mr Morton.
“I think by putting barriers in place, it sorts out the serious people and that’s what we need. Having professional standards will help us have confidence in ourselves.”
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