Are You Ready to Become a Predictive Farmer?

The 2015 NAR Annual Meeting in New Orleans was, at many levels, a far different experience than any of its century of predecessors. There was a clear and consistent vibe that after all of the years of talking about transition and disruption that the long predicted tsunami of change had indeed arrived to create something "far different." Moreover, that this far different thing was going to be broker centric with a strong consumer flavor rather than consumer centric with a strong broker flavor.

You could hear it in the presentations and programs. You could sense it in conversations and hallway huddles. You could feel it in the demeanor of the late night gatherings. Interestingly enough, one came to understand that those who were not receiving this vibe were also those who were probably never going to get it.

Perhaps it was the specter of the recent News Corp related purchase of Move.com. The realization that the industry demographic had expanded to include yet another team of powerful global experts for whom the industry's traditions and legacies paled in comparison to its long denied financial potential. One could not help but feel the gaze of Rupert Murdoch looking down on the trade show floor, working a checklist of what was relevant and what was fluff.

At the same time, the vast expanse of brilliant white and generally unoccupied carpet that comprised the massive Berkshire Hathaway exhibit area served as another reminder that the industry dynamic also includes a major player for whom the annual meeting might be seen as more of a cultural event than a business opportunity. The Berkshire booth reminded one of the presence of a king's massive yacht at the Cannes film festival--hauntingly beautiful yet mysteriously vacant. There was work being taken care of elsewhere.