About Joe Rand
About Joe Rand
Joe Rand is the Chief Creative Officer for Howard Hanna | Rand Realty, one of the largest companies in the New York tristate region with almost 30 offices, over 1,200 agents, and closing over 6,000 transactions worth over $2.5 billion in real estate volume in 2020. He is also the Executive Director of the BPP, an industry consortium dedicated to building an advertising-free home search experience with Homesnap.
Joe is the pioneer of the “Client-Oriented Real Estate,” or “CORE,” philosophy of real estate education, which is designed to raise the level of client service provided by the industry by teaching agents how to be “great at their jobs.” An industry thought leader, has spoken at numerous industry conferences including Real Estate Connect, the RIS Media CEO Summit, REALTOR Triple Play, and the Women’s Council or REALTORS national meetings. He was honored by RIS Media in 2018 with one of the inaugural industry Newsmaker Awards, and recognized by Inman News in 2017 as one of the Top 100 Real Estate Influencers.
He is the author of Disruptors, Discounters, and Doubters, about how the industry can overcome the challenges posed by disruption by raising the bar on client experiences, and the forthcoming How to be a Great Real Estate Agent, about how agents can build their business by becoming better at their actual jobs. He is also a regular contributor to Inman News, and the author of several online blogs: the Client-Oriented Real Estate Blog, where he writes about the CORE concept and real estate education; the Rand Country Blog, providing real estate analysis for the New York City tri-stage market; and the Move to SUMA, about his personal experiences relocating from Manhattan to the suburbs.
A graduate of Georgetown University, Joe also has a law degree from Georgetown University Law Center and a Masters of Law from Stanford University. He lives in Nyack, New York with his wife, two children, and three dogs.
Books and Articles
Books:
Joe has written two books about the real estate industry, both of which are available on Amazon and other online booksellers. Most speaking engagements include copies of books for audience members, usually built into the speaking fee. Both books are also available at a bulk discount for direct purchases — contact nina@joerand.com for information.
Disruptors, Discounters, and Doubters: Five Key Changes the Real Estate Industry Can Make to Improve Client Experiences and Protect Our Future (2018)
In his first book, Joe discusses how the real estate industry can fight back against those who would undermine our future: the Disruptors who are promising a better, faster, and cheaper transaction; the Discounters who claim they can replicate our services for a fraction of the cost; and the Doubters in our midst who don’t believe in the value of their work. But to overcome these challenges, we need to embrace change. We need to adapt to service the needs of the empowered consumer. We need to stop thinking of real estate agents as just salespeople and become better at our actual jobs of providing buyers and sellers with a great service experience. We need to recognize that our value proposition has changed from the days when we were just gate keepers and door openers. And we need to fix the broken real estate transaction that leaves clients frustrated and unsatisfied. Because if we don’t, someone else will.
Joe’s second book is an introduction to his concept of Client-Oriented Real Estate (“CORE”), which is designed to help agents become better at their jobs of helping clients buy and sell real estate. After discussing the value of being “great at your job,” Joe reviews what he calls the CORE formula for success: (1) expanding your conception of what people need, (2) creatively finding ways to service those needs, and (3) executing well. He then applies that formula to show agents how focusing on client needs can help them build a successful business: generating more clients, converting more appointments, and providing a superior transactional experience.
White Papers:
Seven Reasons for Optimism: Case Studies in Market Resilience (2020)
Case studies in how the market has responded to adversity, in light of the COVID-19 Pandemic.
Real Estate Industry Articles:
Inman News, Be Resilient in the Face of Disruption
February 7, 2020
How the real estate industry is fighting off disruption.
Inman News, Why It’s Not NAR’s Job to Save the Industry – And It Shouldn’t Be
May 15, 2018
Why the industry cannot look to NAR to fight off disruption.
Inman News, Connect/Reflect: Shining a Spotlight on My Blind Spots
December 6, 2017
Why Real Estate Connect is a crucial part of the yearly conference schedule.
Inman News, 5 Reasons Trump’s Tax Plan is Bad News for Real Estate
November 7, 2017
A critical analysis of the proposed Trump tax reform package and its impact on real estate.
Inman News, Who’s Responsible for Shortening the Real Estate Transaction
February 27, 2017
Argument for the role of mortgage and title operators in facilitating the real estate transaction.
Inman News, How to Protect Your Brokerage from Failure in 2017
December 20, 2016
Brokers need to focus on providing value to their agents, and maintaining control over expenses.
Inman News, 7 Tips for Being a Buzzworth Inman Connect Panelist
December 5, 2016
Advice for conference panelists on making a great impression.
Inman News, Pricing Mistake No. 5: The Big Price-Drop Fumble,
June 24, 2016
Advisory for real estate agents in getting price reductions on overpriced listings.
Inman News, Pricing mistake No. 4: Being ashamed of taking an overpriced listing,
June 23, 2016
Advises agents to not be ashamed of overpriced listings as it is a disservice to the seller.
Inman News, 7 notes about this year’s Realogy FWD Innovation Summit,
June 22, 2016
Details the upcoming trends in real estate technology.
Inman News, Pricing mistake No. 3: Emphasizing unsold properties,
June 22, 2016
Advises agents against anchoring the seller to an unrealistic unsold price.
Inman News, Pricing mistake No. 2: Telling rather than showing,
June 21, 2016
Advises agents to collaboratively go through a CMA to guide the seller towards a realistic price.
Inman News, Pricing mistake No. 1: Asking sellers what the home should go for,
June 20, 2016
Cautions against initially asking sellers what they want to price their home at without first showing them enough data to allow them to make an informed estimate.
Inman News, 6 massive pricing mistakes homesellers need to evade,
April 21, 2016
Lists common mistakes sellers make when pricing their homes.
Inman News, Why agents should stop it with the politics on Facebook,
January 29, 2016
Cautions against alienating half your facebook friends by posting your political views.
Inman News, Realtyperson, heal thyself: Sellers will never trust us on price,
October 13, 2015
Relates how agents must inform the client about the current market but ultimately it’s the seller’s decision what price fits the home.
Inman News, Why you simply can’t do enough marketing for a buyer,
October 6, 2015
Relays the importance of good marketing.
Inman News, Realtyperson, heal thyself: Buyers and sellers are miserable at different times,
September 29, 2015
Relates how the mindset of the seller and buyer change as the real estate transaction progresses.
Inman News, Realtyperson, heal thyself: Use your website like a buyer,
September 22, 2015
Advises agents and brokers to use the apps and portals they offer their clients to determine what needs to be improved upon.
Inman News, Realtyperson, heal thyself: Why you should move every 5 years, September 15, 2015
Tells in great detail how easy and fun moving is.
Inman News, Opinion: When the Web is for shoppers, where do you find buyers and sellers?,
July 28, 2015
Advises brokers to develop websites to assist in the transactional process of buying a home.
Inman News, Why real estate professionals need to read ‘Zillow Talk’,
February 5, 2015
Summarizes the main points of “Zillow Talk” and advises agents and brokers to purchase the book.
Inman News, 10 things I learned at Real Estate Connect NYC,
February 3, 2015
Provides insight on the major takeaways from Real Estate Connect NYC.
Inman News,What sale of realtor.com operator Move to News Corp signifies: Nothing. Zippo. Nada.,
September 30, 2014
Predicts the sale of realtor.com operator Move will have no effect on the average broker or agent.
Inman News, Why Zulia doesn’t mean checkmate,
July 28, 2014
Explains how Zulia is an asset rather than a competitor.
Inman News, If we build it, will they come?,
June 4, 2014
Urges clients to be more critical in choosing an agent to work with.
Inman News, No One Can Disrupt Our Industry Without Our Permission,
April 24, 2014
Advises brokerages and agents to adapt to change that new technology will bring.