Each Friday, Russ Anderson, the president and CEO of Briggs Freeman Sotheby’s International Realty, writes about luxury, trends, business and more in the advertising pages of the Mansion section of The Wall Street Journal. Below is his letter of August 16, 2024.
FROM THE PRESIDENT'S P.O.V.
There are folks out there who have never thought of this:
A real estate advisor provides a professional service that is worthy of fair compensation — as do a doctor, accountant and attorney.
As almost everyone on the planet knows, thanks to a rather sensational news cycle this spring and again right now, how real estate advisors are compensated is evolving. Decades-long customs are changing and continue to change, and even more transparency about compensation is a goal for so many.
Here’s the part that Briggs Freeman Sotheby’s International Realty has had all along: Our advisors are professionals who have always been able to prove their value — as crucial advisors, risk mitigators and wealth builders.
That value comes into play, especially if you are buying a home. Among many things, a great advisor helps you achieve two critical things:
- The highest confidence in your decisions. One example? Our advisors deeply evaluate the homes you’ll see, reading between the lines of disclosures and inspections.
- The most advantageous deal you can get, from negotiating the final price to forecasting which home in which neighborhood, could make you a significant amount of money down the road.
That is the wealth-building part. When you work with a professional advisor, you benefit directly — now and later — from their education, connections, and experience. And just like a business consultant or financial advisors are paid for their services, a real estate advisor should be, too.
So, don’t buy into the media hype about commissions being drastically reduced or going away. They aren’t. They shouldn’t. A professional real estate advisor provides immense value to their buyers and sellers — monetary and otherwise.
Russ Anderson
President and CEO
Briggs Freeman Sotheby’s International Realty
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