In one new episode of the “Unfiltered podcast for real estate insiders”, say presenters James Dwiggins and Keith Robinson Collabra technology CEO Russ Cofano dives into cooperative pay and the National Association of Real Estate Agents‘ (NAR) Including Clear Cooperation Policy (CCP).
This conversation has been edited for length and clarity. To kick off the episode, Cofano dives into his views on the NAR lawsuit settlement changes and the controversial practices resulting from them.
Cofano: There are some good things about it, but there are also some questionable things. The legal industry understands that they can make a lot of money because of the nature of real estate. The industry is made up of creative, enterprising people who are not always long-term thinkers. Agents will also find it more difficult to perform their duties to their clients in terms of obtaining commissions.
Robinson: How do we get leadership aligned with agents when it comes to answering important customer service questions?
Cofano: Over the past twenty years, the industry has moved away from leadership through business models. They have given ownership to individual agents and teams, and it has had a huge impact on the economics of the industry and things like the CCP. It’s low surveillance, heavy body count.
Robinson: To what extent is this just the chaos of change when there is an external shift in the market? Will this normalize within six months?
Cofano: I think it’s a great time to be in this business. There is a huge opportunity. But it’s not a three- or six-month deal. We’re going to see some really interesting, expected and unexpected things.
Dwiggins: What is your opinion on cooperative compensation?
Cofano: I think the sooner the industry can leave the CCP, it will help us. Either way, if we don’t address the underlying economic problem of sick brokerage firms, the industry will eat itself from within. There needs to be strong broker organizations – that’s the biggest concern I have. The CCP will handle itself.
Dwiggins: Tell us about Collabra technology.
Cofano: Most real estate agents are great salespeople, not great marketers. That’s why we came up with the concept of a store builder. It features a data and analytics component that helps agents understand the power of their digital presence, and uses the philosophy of demand generation rather than lead generation. Demand generation occurs at a high level and in a high funnel, building awareness and perspective about the brand’s value.
Our advertising platform allows an agent to create a fully optimized ad that goes out to Meta, Instagram, Googling or Bing. Agents need to understand that portals are the newspaper of the 21st century.
To end the conversation, Cofano offers advice to real estate agents and brokers for success in the 2025 housing market.
Cofano: If I were a broker leader today, I would talk to as many people as possible to understand where the opportunities lie. I’m going to be maniacal when it comes to understanding my agents’ pain points and addressing those specific pain points. Everything else can be put aside.
