Marty Douglas

If I had a nickel for every minute I have sat through meetings for work or with various community organizations, I swear I would be a millionaire. I am so wary of meetings now that when people ask me to come out, my first thought is to find a way to not attend.

Let’s consider some of the changes and challenges since 1970. My pick for the No. 1 change is women in real estate. In 1970 there were companies that refused to have women licensees.

Every manager and owner has one critical responsibility – recruiting. Then comes the nasty bit. Many leave because the work effort required is a surprise, because they aren’t as “lucky” as others, because their hands weren’t held as they crossed the road.

Mr. Lee suggests the success of Uber is a red flag for our industry, that gatherers of big data will soon create platforms where buyer and seller will meet to finally accomplish what has been threatened for decades – disintermediation.

At that long-ago conference, one of the keynote speakers – Gandalf the Grey perhaps – suggested the future of real estate would benefit greatly from divorce and the resulting new household formations.

Brian Collie was, as the best leaders are, inclusive, willing to share and even to yield the stage, to push those deserving of recognition or opportunity to the forefront. His legacy is his example.

AGMs get poor representation except by those who are paid to be there, those within a few minutes driving distance and those few of us who think membership deserves attention to the governance of our multi-million dollar asset.

At Banff Western Connection 2015, we listened to a panel of six consumers discuss their experiences with real estate agents and why three of them ultimately decided to sell their own homes.

Marty Douglas: My guess is that 20 years from now we’ll be wringing our hands over the similar results from a futuristic gaze into the same old navel. Let’s face it – we are in sales and the more you try to put lipstick on that pig, the more it looks like animal cruelty.

When it comes to part-time real estate agents, if “part time” means another source of income, then pensioners (private, public or CPP) would be included. That clearly would impact many licensees who have joined the industry following a long career in a pensionable job. And what about alimony?