Consulting versus Conducting

In good times buyers will enter into a contract with relative ease. The real estate agent assists them with the contract, organizing inspections, and making it to closing. 

When times get harder the agent becomes more of a consultant. The buyer wants to know how the market is affected by Fannie and Freddie, they need to know what a credit crisis means to them. As the agent, you are their source of information, and you have to be on top of current market conditions, political climate, and economic trends.