The MLS goes away and the single biggest reason for listing your house with a realtor goes away - and then "realtor" as a profession goes away or is drastically altered. Yes, Craigslist is OK, yes, you can individually market your home and yes, FSBO has some merits.
But I think a complete replacement (and enhancement) of MLS is the key and Google is the company that should and I predict will do it.
It's just a database. It's just information wanting to be free.
Free the MLS!
And you know zillow.com gets rid of the appraisers, and a reader also said check out blueroof.com.
Here's a note from the realtor community on the Google threat:
I have made a central theme of my posts and a foundational basis for my type of marketing real estate online is that the MLS has got to be protected. Why?
For one it is your only tangible service that you provide. It is something that the consumer can get its arm around. Thus it has value. Henceforth, the gazillions of seed Capital for this new era of Dot Com exuberance.
This will only serve to take away the consumers access to agents as the primary contact point. An intermediary will serve to capture the lead and charge you for privilege of accessing that lead. Not to mention the possibility of swaying the consumer away from a Realtor served MLS system.
Of course it isn't being protected much. And I believe it end will be a losing battle for the real estate industry.
July 09, 2006
Isn't it time for mls.google.com?
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18 comments:
RE agents are not going the way of travel agents. The transactions are way too large. The used car business is a better example. The net has given buyers and sellers far more information to make better decisions and figure out valuations. But at the end of the day most people still trade their old cars in, effectively keeping the middleman in business. Same goes for RE, it will just become more transparent.
If Ebay was in charge they would probably charge more than 6% and not take any legal responsibility. Having an internet site monopolize the listings may actually be even worse than how MLS is monopolized now. It would then just be big business running it rather than the multiple "competitors" we have now.
I'll believe it when I see it. Google is full of $h*t most of the time. They're NATO - No Action Talk Only.
RE is like the insurance industry - there are no national laws that regulate it. Each state has its own set of rules and regulations, and the RE people like it that way.
I can see how RE agents could go the way of the old stock brokers. Commissions on stock sales used to be fairly high 2%-4% just like RE commissions are today. Then along came the discount brokers who changed all of that in the '80s and '90s. Now most people pay a flat fee for stock trades.
Time: Future
Place: Museum
Child: Look mommy, next to the TRex, is that a person?
Mother: No, that is a RE agent.
Child: What is she doing next to a dinosaur?
Mother: She is a dinosaur too, I'll explain later.
Child: She sure has nice clothes and a nice car
Mother: I know dear, now let's go.
I've heard rumors that a new kind of FSBO/Home Shopping site will soon be launched at BUYONTV.com by entrepreneurs who took a company public previously, but I don't know anything more about it.
A new model that will change the industry supposedly.
RE agents should get a flat fee. The lawyers charge @ $850.00 for a closing! Why should a realtor get 6%? That logic is screwed up. I'd love to cut the RE agent out or give them a small fee if they earn it.
Yes, Real Estate agents go away - but, some fees will remain: Escrow, inspectors and lawyers.
The reason car dealerships survive is because they have a monopoly on the supply of autos from manufacturers.
globethistle.blogspot.com
Let's be honest - how many RE agents have anything higher than a high school education?...(Getting your RE license doesn't count)
If lawyers, bankers, homeowners, and buyers are getting taken by a bunch of greedy RE dopes - it is their own fault.
We all need to get real and attempt to make a purchase or sale on our own. Cut the RE agent out of the picture. How the hell do they qualify to get a huge chunk of our money? With new technology/ MLS, etc., they should to be greatful to lick our shoes or be allowed in our homes. RE agents need to go away.
From what I can tell, Zillow.com zestimates are 10-15% too high and not much actually sells based on Craig's List ads. The last appraisal I had done on a unit I sold was done by a guy who didn't even see the interior, but just ran some software that looked at comps. It's clear that we don't need highly paid humans to do any of this work. However, it appears as of now that the mls is really the only way to reach serious buyers. I agree that realtors are going the way of travel agents, but I haven't seen it start yet.
"Let's be honest - how many RE agents have anything higher than a high school education?...(Getting your RE license doesn't count)."
But Suzanne has to be smart - because she can do research.
As the industry evolves the consumer will have more choice and, ultimately, more value. The new breed of real estate websites and companies such as www.blueroof.com allow the consumer to choose to be more involved in the process and receive incentive for their efforts.
I think people want the help of a professional when they buy or sell property, they just don't want to pay the historically high commissions.
I've been advocating flat fees for a few years now in my own real estate business. Problem is that no clients take me up on it.
In the hot market days I did reduce my commissions because I rarely had to to any marketing (my largest expense). I sold home for sellers and negotiated my side of the commission to 1% on a few occasions. Often though sellers would tell me they would pay me 2.5% or even 3% to represent them. End of negotiation.
Yes, sellers did have to pay the buyers broker if they wanted the listing in the MLS. That's always negotiable too. What did sellers do?? Offered more of a % because they perceived a value in it.
Realtors will have to negotiate moreso in the future as more tools are available to both buyers and sellers.
If lawyers are getting $850 to close on a property, that's great. I wonder if the lawyer gets his money whether a deal closes or not?? I'm asking because I don't know.
I'd take $500 if I was just managing the transaction on behalf of the seller. No problem. I wouldn't even ask for the money up front and would take my fee from the closing. Why not?? The seller found the buyer at his expense, which is the toughest thing to do (especially now), the seller made available his property for showings, sat his own open house, negotiated his own set of terms with the buyer... all that is great. I applaud sellers who can do this.
While many of the commenters on this site are very savvy and appear to have no problems in doing any of this, the majority of folks are still going to hire someone to represent them. Just the way it is. There's plenty of federal and state (and even local) regualtions on transferring property and most folks don't buy and sell a house with enough regularity to stay up on those, hence they hire help.
I have no problem negotiating with would be clients on my fees. If they choose to go it themselves or hire another agent, it's their choice.
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