The importance of transparency

Think about it...

• Buy a plane ticket... choose your seat, get your boarding pass, and check status of your flight all on your phone... in real time.
• Order a pizza... track it while it's cooking and while on it's way to your house.
• Schedule a rideshare... see when it will pick up and when you will arrive at your destination.

Getting a pricing estimate is more complicated than any of the above, however, with the right technology, can it be more transparent?

Someone at the pizza company figured out how to apply GPS to the process in order to take the mystery of how long before you could feed your munchies.

Someone at the airline company figured out how to open up their systems so you would not have to rely on calling someone to change your seat or find out if your plane was going to be on time.

And someone who thought taxis were a thing of the past created something much better that took all the frustrations of hailing a cab, figuring out when you would get to your destination, and then paying for the ride, out of the equation.

It's time we figure out how we make pricing estimates much more transparent and easier so we can give consumers what they get everywhere else!

Consumers currently go to a portal, type in an address, and get a price. Some have even branded the estimate so consumers feel "warm and fuzzy".

But do they really know what it means?

Do they realize it's just an estimate that still requires the expertise of a qualified real estate agent?

Agents are often playing defense to explain other people's estimates.

They are put in the position of having to defend the reality of what's actually going on beyond the initial estimate.

• Does it take into consideration the right comps?
• Does it know the interior condition of the property?
• Does it know one side of the neighborhood is dramatically different than the other?

What if the process was much more transparent... like ordering a plane ticket, a pizza, or a rideshare?

What if the process of pricing a home was easier and less time consuming?

Would it lead to more transparency?

Would it lead to more trust in the agent?

Would it lead to a better experience for the consumer?

Would it lead to more business for agents and their brokerages?

Just think back to your college days (if you are old enough) where you called for your pizza and hoped it would get to you in time.

Think about the old way of booking a plane tickets and how painful and uncertain it was.

And think about the last time you were in a cab. Why would you still ride in a cab knowing there are much better options?

With the right amount of data, artificial intelligence, machine learning, among other things, transparency is possible today.

It's important. Consumers expect it.