Marking PAR’s 100th Anniversary: Past President Bill McFalls

Editor’s note: The Pennsylvania Association of Realtors® has celebrated its 100th anniversary this year. As part of our Member Profile feature, we have highlighted some of the Realtors® who have served as president of the organization.

Name: Bill McFalls Jr.
Company: RE/MAX Preferred, West Chester
Years in real estate:  30 years
Local association: Suburban West Association of Realtors®
Year served: 2019 president

If you could go back in time, what advice would you give your younger self?
I think one of the things that I would tell myself, even though it’s a cliché, is to just not sweat the small stuff. I spent a lot of time sweating the small stuff and the reality is you can do well without it and get a lot more accomplished.

Why should agents get involved in their local, state and national associations?
I think agents should get involved in our associations at every level. They have great ideas. Becoming active in the association is a great opportunity to give back to what we do and it’s why I got involved personally. We need new, fresh ideas. Many of the people who have them are standing on the sidelines and they’re afraid to make suggestions. Once they get involved, they find that it’s a benefit for them and for the association. I’ve found that being involved is a truly growing experience.

What advice would you give someone who was thinking of moving up through the offices in PAR?
If I was planning again to move up to through the offices at PAR, I think the best thing would be just planning. It takes time and a lot of commitment to volunteer at the local and state associations as you serve on committees and boards. You can do it more effectively if you plan ahead so you can maintain your business and provide a service to the association.

What’s the biggest change you’ve seen in the real estate market since you started?
Since I’ve started in the marketplace, which is now 30 years, one of the biggest changes in the business I’ve seen is just technology. It’s a significant change. I started in the industry when we were using the MLS books and now you just push a few buttons on your computer. I think it’s a benefit; it has a lot of great pieces to it, but I think it also takes away a little bit from our experience that we provide as Realtors® to the consumer. Technology is a positive for the consumers and it’s also a negative for the consumer. Technology has been the biggest change.

Do you think the environment or technology will have a bigger impact on real estate in the next 100 years?
I really think when comparing the two – the environment or technology – going forward in real estate, I truly think technology just continues to win the day. To move forward, to really affect our industry, where it goes, what it looks like, I think technology is going to be the key influencer moving forward.