James Dwiggins, CEO of Next Home

A few weeks ago our coaching group held a call With the CEO of Next Home James Dwiggins.

You can listen to the recording here AND/OR below is a 4 minute read of the recap of the call with Key Takeaways and some Action Steps that you as an agent can take to use to your advantage in 2025.

Recap:

The discussion in this webinar revolves around the changes in the real estate industry, particularly the aftermath of the August 17th settlement. James Dwiggins, a third-generation realtor and co-founder of NextHome, shares his insights on the shifts in real estate practices, including buyer representation agreements, agent accountability, and the evolution of the industry. The key topics covered include:

  • Importance of Buyer Rep Agreements: Emphasizing the need for agents to clearly articulate their value to clients and ensure buyers understand the services they’re paying for.
  • Lead Generation & Scalability: James highlights how technology, like his platform Raise, helps agents demonstrate their value to clients, including tracking activities, time, and expenses in real-time.
  • Changes in Compensation: The conversation touches on steering and how agents should not adjust buyer agreements based on seller offers to avoid potential legal and ethical issues.
  • Impact of Settlement: The discussion outlines how the real estate landscape is changing with buyer compensation and the risks associated with cooperative compensation, advising agents to shift away from this model to avoid harming their clients or risking litigation.
  • Cooperative Compensation and MLS: James argues against cooperative compensation as it can harm sellers by pre-determining amounts agents would share, while advocating for transparent negotiations.
  • Clear Cooperation Policy (CCP): James defends the CCP as essential to maintaining a fair and transparent marketplace, ensuring all buyers and sellers have equal access to listing information. He warns of the potential rollback in consumer access and marketplace fragmentation if CCP is eliminated.

Key Takeaways:

  1. Shift to Better Buyer Representation: Agents must improve how they articulate their value, ensure transparency in buyer rep agreements, and avoid steering clients based on seller compensation offers.
  2. Importance of Clear Cooperation Policy: CCP ensures a fair marketplace by requiring properties to be listed on the MLS, providing transparency and broad access to listings. Its removal could harm both consumers and agents.
  3. Impact on Lead Generation & Scalability: Agents are encouraged to leverage technology that tracks their value-added services, helping to increase client trust and improve lead generation.
  4. Legal and Ethical Considerations: Agents should avoid adjusting agreements based on seller bonuses or compensation offers to steer clients, as it opens them to legal risks and undermines the trust-based nature of the profession.
  5. Transparency and Fiduciary Responsibility: Both buyers and sellers must fully understand the agreements and practices agents are using to avoid future disputes or legal consequences.

Action Steps:

  1. Improve Articulation of Services: Agents should practice explaining their services in a way that adds value, ensuring that clients understand what they are paying for.
  2. Implement Clear Buyer Rep Agreements: Ensure all buyer agreements clearly state fees and services upfront, eliminating any ambiguity or post-negotiation adjustments.
  3. Leverage Technology: Utilize platforms like Raise to track and showcase the value of behind-the-scenes work to clients.
  4. Move Away from Cooperative Compensation: Avoid cooperative compensation models that predetermine payments between agents, focusing instead on transparent negotiations that protect the seller’s interests.
  5. Advocate for CCP Improvements: Support policies that protect transparency and fairness in the marketplace, such as refining CCP with clear guidelines while maintaining consumer and seller benefits.

You can follow James’ Podcast here https://www.youtube.com/@RealEstateInsidersUnfiltered

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610-432-0900 | info@themichaelmannteam.com

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