Steve Murray on competition and agent productivity

Today’s HousingWire Daily features a crossover episode with RealTrending, a podcast that focuses on interviewing the brightest minds in real estate and the housing market. In this episode, Steve Murray, RealTrends advisor and industry stalwart, shares his thoughts on how real estate brokerages can stay ahead of competition. 

Additionally, Murray gives some insight on why agent productivity is flat even though growth in the agent rankings is at an all-time high.

Here is a small preview of the interview. The transcript below has been lightly edited for length and clarity:

Steve Murray on Competition: Running a real estate brokerage is a little like competing in sports. You’ve got competition, and you’re all good at what you do. But, it comes down to who wants to practice. Golfer Lanny Watkins commented that if the pros of 1998 to 2005, when Tiger was at the height of his prowess, didn’t want Tiger to win all the tournaments, they were going to have to step up their games — no matter how good they thought they were. They would have to go back to the range and improve their golf game. I thought this was a valuable lesson for all of us during these times.

Steve Murray book recommendation: It’s only once in a while I recommend a book to our listeners through the RealTrending podcast. This one has nothing to do with real estate, but if you’re curious about climate science, it’s a great read. It’s called “Unsettled,” by Steven Koonin. He’s a respected scientist who has served in several administrations, including the Obama Administration in the energy area. This book is about climate science, and the facts surrounding climate change and climate science.

Why is agent productivity flat?: When you think about it, in the RealTrends + Tom Ferry The Thousand and America’s Best Real Estate Professionals, there’s such a small share of professional Realtors who captured a large share of the business. It’s interesting to note that when we looked at the productivity of these top-ranked individuals and teams from 2019 to 2020 on a transaction basis, productivity actually didn’t change at all. They were flat from 2019 to 2020.

HousingWire Daily examines the most compelling articles reported across HW Media. Each afternoon, we provide our listeners with a deeper look into the stories coming across our newsrooms that are helping Move Markets Forward. Hosted by the HW team and produced by Alcynna Lloyd and Victoria Jones.