By Jeremy Conaway

President, RECON Intelligence Services

These are unique times in the American real estate marketplace, and this may be one of the most important moments in the history of our industry and your REALTOR® association.

A stressed economy, a transitioning marketplace, an evolving consumer, an empowered Internet, a revalued property inventory and converging informational technologies are changing our world.

Any one of these forces has, on its own merit, the potential of changing our industry; together they have the power of creating a whole new real estate environment. Trends leading up to this moment indicate the very real likelihood that all of these forces will work together to produce a massive real estate climate change within the coming months.

The ramifications of these circumstances, to every REALTOR® in the community, are significant. In plain English, this means that virtually every element of the real estate transaction will be changing over the next two years.

Consider what was the relatively simple act of financing a residential purchase. Currently new rules regarding credit histories, lending requirements and terms of payments are changing everything and complicating the process.

In many communities, nearly half of all available properties are distressed in some manner or another. Foreclosure work and short sales, once remote events, are now everyday duties.

Is this just a process change, or a fundamental shift that even includes our concept of who the consumer is? Consider this month’s Harvard Business Review’s article entitled Understanding the Post Recession Consumer, which features eight pages dedicated to understanding how the evolving American consumer will change their demand behaviors and spending habits. Consider the many points made in Eric Janszen’s recent article Selling to the Debt Averse Consumer. You are about to deal with a whole new consumer whose expectations and demands will require a far different approach by the REALTOR®.

Moving forward, information will become the coin of the real estate realm. Basic bedroom, baths and lot size MLS information set will fade in importance as buyers demand information on everything from obsolescence to air quality and aircraft flyover data to neighborhood qualities.

Issues regarding the REALTOR® value proposition will become increasingly critical as consumers continue to ask questions about the use of real estate professionals. Over and above these issues are the growing expectations of consumers regarding agent rating, ranking and commenting, especially with respect to their would-be agent’s performance with previous client and customers. Experts are predicting that the challenges to REALTOR® risk management and professional standards will increase as consumers become more and more attuned to the rights and wrongs of real estate transactions.

Think about something as simple as property taxes. Communities across the country are facing difficult economic times and are responding by taxing every aspect of real estate from sale to purchase and from transfer to ownership. Who is going to protect private property rights in the eye of this storm?

Communications, once a straightforward matter of telephones and faxes, have evolved into a world of social media based communications technologies, each one with its own unique processes and techniques.

Even the most experienced and successful agent will have to go through many hours of training to learn about these new trends and directions. But who will be available to provide this information and training?

After over four years of down markets, most brokers have either discontinued or downsized their education and training programs. Annual training from the private sector has become less and less frequent. Many of the top franchises in the country have either sharply reduced or eliminated the development of agent training programs that address these new developments.

The solution to all of these issues is the same. Moving forward, your local REALTOR® association is about to become the single most important source of professional support ever.

We are not talking about your parent’s REALTOR® association. This is not about golf outings, REALTOR® proms and endless meetings. This is about serious remedies for serious real estate professionals. This is about realizing a positive return on the career long investment you have made in your local REALTOR® association.

REALTOR® associations across the country are rising to this new challenge. More and more resources are being allocated to direct member professional support. Traditional education programs are evolving into sophisticated knowledge service programs designed to provide members with current, relevant information, in formats and venues that can be accessed and searched to ensure post classroom availability.

Government affairs programs are being beefed up to deal with a whole range of new private property issues. Yesterday’s GAD is evolving into today’s public affairs commando. Volunteers are being trained to provide back up and additional manpower for the major battles to come.

REALTORS® of all generations are learning about the effective use of Facebook, Twitter, Craigslist, LinkedIn, YouTube and a dozen other social medias from their REALTOR® associations. Social media summer camps are becoming a common venue.

Last year you may, or may not, have been a big fan of your REALTOR® association. It just doesn’t matter because this is a whole new day. Only by working together are REALTORS® going to meet the challenges that lie just ahead. This means volunteering to help and using the services and programs.

The good news is that the market is coming back. The unsettling news is that it will be a totally different environment than we knew in 2002. The great news is that your REALTOR® association is now your best career support option. It is ready and waiting to support you through the challenging times ahead.

Have no doubt that the power you will need to succeed lies in working together to create a whole new class of REALTORS®, for a whole new generation of consumers, and a whole new portfolio of transactions. Why would you be anywhere else?