"The median age of first-time buyers is approximately 31 years of age." writes Bernice Ross for Inman News, "and the median age of Realtors is 56. The issue for the real estate industry is: Will these two groups be able to bridge the gap and work together?"

It used to be that agents were the "go to" experts who had all the information and controlled all the information but this isn't the case anymore. 

Expertise is less prized with the younger generations who may prefer to do their own research and will make up their minds independently or even collectively within their circle of friends.

Showing off your expertise is a "turn off" to the younger generations who might perceive it as parenting behavior.

Be on equal ground:  "The agent must approach the Gen Y client as the agent would approach a friend with whom they are on equal terms -- not as an expert to a beginner." says Ross.

"The challenge," writes Ross, "is that if you don't (change) now to meet the needs of the next generation of real estate consumers, your business will slowly dwindle to nothing."

It's important to be "tech savvy" in order to keep up with the next generations.  You need to embrace the new social media in order to grow and compete in this internet driven society. "The Gen Y (real estate agents) have the pipeline, but they don't have the skills. The boomers have the skills, but many of them no longer have the pipeline." quoted Ross.

Read more at Inman News.com

photo credit: edmontonnextgen

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