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72 Comments
- zoombusa, on 10/12/2007, -4/+16So does a realtor who sales a $500,000 house as opposed to a $100,000 house work harder and deserve more money?
We need and want a flat rate service to pay for only the services we receive. - inactive, on 10/12/2007, -4/+15I hate realtors. A friend of mine became one in the last 4+ years and the money he made wa unreal. He himself said that he felt he was ripping people off.
And he loved it. - Herolint, on 10/12/2007, -3/+12@sjons
All of that may be true, but how common is it? When I bought my house, the realtor printed out a bunch of listing in the price range I had requested via NLS and drove around with me to look at them.
The realtor was nice for the most part, but I would hardly say that nice is worth $6,000.00. There is nothing she provided that couldn't be offered for $50.00 or less on the internet.
In my opinion, there really isn't a need at all for realtors anymore. - inactive, on 10/12/2007, -0/+7Good article. There's a saying...."Nature abhors a vacuum" and the real estate industry, much like the car buying industry is affected. What you have is a surge in technology (wider broadband access, real estate websites, county housing info) following a robust housing market where realtors made ungodly amounts of money for doing realatively little work to sell a house. This is the "vacuum".
Imagine someone like Google or Microsoft tapping into this market for a flat fee or even free. List your own house with a nice online picture catalog or video and sell it yourself. Couple technology with the fact that laws today protect both buyers and sellers and doing the transaction paperwork has become easier. Title companies protect against most fraud and home inspectors assess the building for a host of possible defects. Realtors stand around and actually do very little in the whole scheme of things.
Finally, with a slowing housing market and supply [of homes] increasing, realtors are going to have to compete harder with their brethren and technology to make an income they were used to making not too long ago. This could lead to discounted rates and the attrition of many realtors who are "on the fence" with their careers. - Flagg3, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6What do you think Realtors are, Rocket Scientists? They don't need no stinkin' G.E.D, they just need to complete a course and pass a simple test.
Both of my neighbors passed the test, they said it was the easiest test that they had ever taken in their lives. Of course Realtors will hate this, anything that interferes with their exorbitant commissions will make their blood boil.
When I sell my home, there is no way I am giving 6% of my hard earned equity to some brain dead idiot to spend 10 hours showing my home. I don't care what value a Realtor adds, when he is earning more than $1,000 per hour, something is definitely wrong with the system.
Flagg - nixfu, on 10/12/2007, -2/+8
Maybe its time for an OPEN-MLS to compete with the closed one. - fodder650, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6As a Help U Sell Realtor we get this as well. We have been doing non-traditional real estate since 1975. Its amazing to see how the other realtors treat you.
As a customer who just bought and sold a home in the last couple months I can also say the 6% isn't worth it. It has made me a better realtor to see the other side of the desk. And what little the realtor does.
BTW as for an "Open-MLS". Really realtor.com gives you most of the information I see as a Realtor. Yes it does keep out things like days on market. But its a good simple way to search for homes. And if your looking for addresses on it. Just hit the map function and it will show you where the house is. - cliffzdude, on 10/12/2007, -1/+6We don't need realtors any more.
Realtors had a monopoly for years on their MLS crap. Sorry, but you can't demand people use steam powered cars just because you sell coal. - fishsoda, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5The average realtor is part-time.
- bloobloo, on 10/12/2007, -0/+46%! I'm glad I live in the UK here. There's only one agent involved, for the seller, who takes about 1% of the purchase price.
- tehbishop, on 10/12/2007, -8/+12this would be great! no longer would we be forced into housings answer to car salesmen ... there IS a reason realtors are not liked and made fun of ...
- debtman7, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5I don't know what state you are in (licensing laws vary state to state) but around here it isn't quite that simple. Becoming a real estate agent here requires 120 hours of classroom instruction and passing the licensing exam. I've taken the exam and I wouldn't describe it as 'easy'. There's nothing hard about it, but you do have to study and memorize a bunch of stuff. Lots of obscure latin words, real estate laws, property disputes, wording on legal forms, etc. No, it's not rocket science, but someone who hasn't taken the classes and hasn't studied beforehand wouldn't be able to breeze through it. There's actually about a 40% failure rate around here.
Anyway, agents are a mixed bunch. There are plenty that are useless. There are a few that are really good. There are some in the middle. If you're going to pay an agent, and you find one that actually works for you, I think you get your money's worth. Most agents don't make very good money, 10% of agents probably make 90% of the money. There are probably plenty who are overpaid, but there are some that actually provide a valuable service and earn their money.
Overall, using an agent or not really boils down to whether you want to deal with the hassles involved in selling a house. Setting up showings, answering phone calls, meeting prospective buyers, dealing with financing arrangements and payments, drafting up contracts, etc. There are plenty of people who have no problem doing all this and can pick up a book on selling houses and save a bundle. There are also plenty of people who are perfectly happy to pay someone else to do all that and avoid the hassle. - stolenpass, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5That's odd. Because as a buyer you don't pay the realtor a dime. How did you save 30k?
- level41, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3I too can speak from experience. I sold my home for over $900K with nothing more than a sign and a web page I created for possible buyers. (BTW, most home are sold by a sign, not open house or mailings) Since I sold it myself I was able to have a more competitive price than similar houses and still net more than if I went through a broker. But, I think not everyone can sell it themselves. if one travels, or cannot be around to show the house, then a Realtor has their place. But the industry will have to change and more and more Realtors will have to drop their rates, etc., or go the way of flat pricing, etc. If one has the time, I would suggest that a person try selling it themselves first, and then move up "the ladder" to a broker if it does not work. And of course negotiate your fee. Depending on the area you might get it from 3-5%
- Nation, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4simple answer: generally yes
A more expensive house normally has more expenses for the Realtor and takes longer to sell. There are less people looking for a $500k house compared to a $200k house, thus it is harder to find potential buyers and takes more marketing dollars to sell the bigger house.
Realtors also provide both market information, home setup info (you need to paint this wall, and "yes those marks on your wall will effect the sell price/time"), and all the goofy hoops a person needs to go through to help percent huge mistakes.
I am not a realtor, but work with some and some real estate investors. When professional Real Estate Investors, many of whom are licensed Realtors, use a Realtor to buy & sell properties, then it must be a good ideas. - knoware, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3The internet should be able to supplant the "union-like" realtors and allow the agents & brokers to meet the demands of the local market better and more efficiently.
- sjons, on 10/12/2007, -10/+13I have to reply to all these comments here because I am a realtor, yes, I know nonthinkers and nonreaders will simply digg me down for that fact alone but some will read and not have a universal prejudice. So my answer to the above post is, a responsible hardworking realtor does ALOT more than pass along info. They hound the attorneys, set up inspections, go to showings, hold open houses, answer phones all day, do paperwork involving the sale, research deeds for disputes when first listing a home, give references for local contractors to fix things up, set up appointments for absent homewowners, notify homeowners of problems that come up with their house, place and upkeep their signs which are sometimes stolen, solicit new listings by cold drive ups, go out the night before a showing and drive around tomake sure they know where it is, sometimes getting lost and sometimes the next day getting stood up by no-shows. I've just started, i could go on for another paragraph but i think you get the point....
- YumYumKittyLoaf, on 10/12/2007, -2/+5Really... all a Realtor has to do is know as many houses as possible, pass that info to a customer, show them the house, do a little sugar coating, and they get tons of money from it... You just need a G.E.D. and you can be a Realtor.
I'm happy that this has come up. Lucky entrepreneurs get a decent amount of cash (which goes right back to making the site better, since you really can't make a Realtor any better), and you save money. Win-win in my book.
Not to offend Realtors though, we had a great one when my mom bought a house, very nice and thorough. - oOLiquidNightOo, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/Story.aspx?guid=%7B7A2570BB%2DC704%2D45EF%2DB904%2D2B8B7FD5AB9D%7D&siteid=&print=true&dist=printTop
- emeraldglo, on 12/30/2008, -0/+2OK. Let's be realistic. Do you really think a DEGREE would end corruption, lack of ethics, greed, stupidity and ugliness? I mean, almost every businessman/woman on the planet has a DEGREE..... let's look at the ranks of top white collar criminals and check out their alma mater... Does making cocaine illegal stop people from doing it..... does reading books and taking tests create ethics and integrity?
If so, then I think we just solved almost all of the worlds problems! My next question, however, would be:
WHICH BOOKS??? WHICH TESTS? Because we're obviously not reading and testing on the right materials!!
:)
(And by the way, I related to the conversation you had with the man lost in your breasts. Did you ever see the Saturday Night Live skit from years and years back where three female aliens landed whose eyeballs were on their breasts? HYSTERICAL!) - sclark, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3if anyone is so inclined I recently published on this because of the big on-line real estate conference in San Francisco last month.
sitecreations dot com slash articles slash realestate.html
there are no links or anything else spammy - just informative on this topic. It was written for Business Lexington - their archive is broken or I'd point you there instead. - orangecrush18, on 10/12/2007, -2/+4It depends on the market. I know that here in the Midwest a Realtor would have to work a LOT harder to sell a $500K home vs. a $100K home.
- stolenpass, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3It's actually interesting and kind of funny seeing the comments that many people have left about the real estate profession. Unfortunately I whole heartedly agree with many of the comments that people have left, but at the same time you chalk it up to buyers/sellers willing to put up with horrible service. Real estate agents serve a very important purpose in this day and age, a GOOD real estate agent works behind the scenes to make sure that properties close on time, lenders, title companies and other agents all have their act together. This unfortunately is MORE important now than ever. With so many people jumping on the real estate band wagon, because of the formerly prospering market, we have inexperienced incapable individuals working EVERY aspect of the buying/selling process. It's now more important than ever that consumers hire an agent that will work as their advocate not just take their money and sit on their ass.
While this is a great avenue I honestly don't believe that it will EVER replace agents as a whole. Many individuals feal that it is more important for them to have a living breathing individual that they can contact and see when they need them. This is, I believe, why the Internet will also never completely replace the retail industry. This avenue WILL allow consumers more options when deciding to buy or sell their house, and more options is always important. My family has been in the Real Estate business for about 18 years and I have seen agents come and go, my mother (who is a broker) owns a small shop that nets a pretty fair amount of business. 96% of that business is referral business with some families purchasing multiple homes over the past 18 years. It should be interesting to see what this does for the industry but I don't expect much. Alot of drama was set around the "Help You Sell" companies that spring up quite a few years ago but as you can tell consumers are often times lazy and would prefer it if someone else would do the work. - JustAverageJoe, on 01/12/2009, -0/+2JUSTIFIABLE HOMICIDE - That which is committed with the intention to kill or to do a grievous bodily injury, under circumstances which the law holds sufficient to exculpate the person who commits it.
It is justifiable when the party kills in lawful self-defense. Homicide can be considered justifiable homicide if it is committed in self defense, the defense of others, while trying to prevent of serious crime, and in the line of duty. Justifiable homicide can also be committed to protect someone else, particularly one's family members or sometimes in defense of a residence.
Nevada Revised Statute 200.120 and 200.160
Justifiable Homicide? You Decide, http://www.babelation.com/?q=node/1448
And I add for the safety and well-being of their clients, customers and community!
http://www.broowaha.com/article.php?id=3448
http://www.broowaha.com/article.php?id=3421
http://www.broowaha.com/article.php?id=3404
http://www.broowaha.com/article.php?id=3377
http://www.broowaha.com/article.php?id=3351
http://www.broowaha.com/article.php?id=3300 - Flagg3, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3You don't need to be so hesitant, the article is relevant and clearly not spam.
http://sitecreations.com/articles/realestate.html
Flagg - scarolan, on 10/12/2007, -2/+4I can speak from experience on this topic. We recently sold a house using an Internet-based broker. The broker took a flat fee to get our property into the MLS (multiple listing system) database, and left all the negotiations between me and the buyer's agents. In the end I only paid around 3.5% commission instead of the traditional 6%.
The way MLS used to work was a giant book would come out every few weeks, containing all the listings for a metro area. The seller's agent generally had to work harder to advertise properties to potential buyers, and the buyer's agent had to comb through this book to find properties that his or her client might like. Nowadays, however, almost all MLS systems are available on line, and are search-able by the public.
Many of the older real estate agents are obviously not too happy with this, but any sort of disruptive technology tends to get someone's feathers ruffled before it becomes mainstream.
There are some interesting possibilities that could come out of this. The MLS system is controlled by the real estate agents, because they are the ones providing the content for the database. Think of the MLS system as a central clearinghouse that contains all the listed properties in a particular area. It's in the real estate companies' best interest to keep the MLS system working this way because they can easily find more buyers. At the same time, some brokers feel that the Internet-only guys should not get a free ride on the MLS system that they helped to build. What may happen is the largest players, Century 21, RE Max, etc. simply withdraw all their listings and create their own, private MLS systems. This would completely take the air out of the little Internet-only broker balloons, because there would no longer be a central database to hitch a ride on.
Any diggers involved in real estate care to comment on this? - poipoipoi, on 10/12/2007, -4/+6according to the NY Times article, the average realtor earns $49,500 a year, liar.
- oOLiquidNightOo, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2"eat a turd"
I'd rather pay a Realtor, I guess. - mlkmnz, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3@sjons: LOL dude. I'm sorry, but 95% of realtors I've had do deal with (and I'm talking hundreds here) remind me of people who want to wear a suit to work, but can't get a proper job.
They do nothing a website can't do, in fact they do less as they only have the listings of their company to offer you and not the overall market's offereings. They inflate the price they think they can get for a property to the vendor to get the listing, and give buyers a lower impression of a possible sale price to get the interest in the property.
I've had instances where my wife, daughter and I have been looking for properties and have been instantly dismissed for not looking "money" enough to eletist agents and not taken seriously. 2 of the properties I've bought have been sold ridiculously under value by agents just wanting to onsell the property and clip the ticket, and while thats good for me, its an extreme disservice to the owners.
I could go on and on, but the sooner we can rid the world of them, the better. - Nation, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3@Herolint,
a couple things.
1. I am not a Realtor
2. what you "saw" and what the Realtor did is can be different.
3. The Realtor normally does not "get" all that money, they have to be a part of a brokerage firm/company/org and they take a percent (this is mandated by law and might be state specific), if there is a buyer's agent (and when purchasing a house you should have one) they take about half the commission, not to mention all the continued ed and organizations they must be a part of (might be state specific laws again).
4. they also operate as independent contractors (basically) ... so they have to pay all their expenses ... even the ones they have when they don't have clients and such. - ElGstr, on 01/15/2009, -0/+2Bribes, works first time every time for getting a mortgage fraudster or real estate fraudster off.
Actually the FBI WAS told, years earlier than 2004, repeatedly, about mortgage fraud. Years earlier the FBI was GIVEN names, dates, places, addresses and evidence in the public records, and still did NOTHING about the mortgage fraud. I think the FBI was also accepting bribes from the mortgage fraudsters. There's evidence that suggests that happened in Northern Nevada. Along with bribes accepted by the Nevada Mortgage Commission, Nevada Real Estate Division, Reno-Sparks Association of Realtors, Judge Fidel Salcedo, and Judge Steve Elliott.
In Northern Nevada FBI Agent Glen Lovedahl and his supervisor were given a preponderance of clear and convincing written evidence from lawyers Kent B. Hanson and Mitchell Wright of MILLIONS of dollars of Reno mortgage fraud, threats, bribes offered and accepted. The investigation had already been done, yet the FBI did NOTHING about it.
Check out these Among Us mortgage fraud exposes at http://www.broowaha.com/profile.php?id=1516
Wells Fargo Sucks, they’re just a bunch of Mortgage Fraudsters
Countrywide Sucks, they’re just a bunch of Mortgage Fraudsters
http://www.babelation.com/?q=node/931
http://www.babelation.com/?q=node/900
http://www.babelation.com/?q=node/839
http://www.babelation.com/?q=node/839
http://www.babelation.com/?q=node/951
http://www.babelation.com/?q=node/1099
http://www.babelation.com/?q=node/952
http://www.babelation.com/?q=node/1072
http://www.babelation.com/?q=node/1306
http://www.babelation.com/?q=node/852
Reno’s Mortgage Fraudster Richard Vaughan, formally of Wells Fargo, is a simple, undereducated, preaching buffoon. He is half a baby step away from the homeless people who babble to themselves in the street. He may well be insane, it's hard to tell without seeing him in person. Just stop. Stop embarrassing yourself and go away. Far away. Far away where the terrorist landlords and second home rider fraudsters run free and loan officers illegally make-up loan applications and area managers fire honest loan officers and chase butterflies in fields of sunflowers. Go be with the terrorist loan officers and second home rider fraudsters, Reno’s Mortgage Fraudster Richard Vaughan, formally of Wells Fargo. Let them pet your head and tell you the truth. Now go Reno’s Mortgage Fraudster Richard Vaughan, formally of Wells Fargo, be free, be with your people. Run along sweet cheeks, run along. Good boy, good....
“Reno’s Mortgage Fraudster Richard Vaughan, formally of Wells Fargo, you lookin' at me? You look' at me? Are you lookin' at me?" It's awesome. Not only is he dumb dumb, he’s totally looped Reno’s Mortgage Fraudster Richard Vaughan, formally of Wells Fargo, you can't hide what you are and what you do. You are a sanctimonious psycho bitch. I think Bristol Palin’s retarded fetus is more qualified to be human or a loan officer than Reno’s Mortgage Fraudster Richard Vaughan, formally of Wells Fargo is. Prudential Nevada Realty’s Keith W. Gledhill Mortgage Fraudster, are you trying to out-stupid yourself?! If so, mission accomplished boy! Go treat yourself to a Nazi pie! Reno’s Mortgage Fraudster Richard Vaughan, formally of Wells Fargo, if you send me a postage pre-paid 3 x 3 x 3 box, I'll mail you the ***** Eleanor and Gertrude produced on your fraudulent second home loan applications and fraudulent home loan applications. I can also send you a clump of their urine (complete with litter) if you like. Next person to call this dumb, crazy prick a dick will get a -1 on their comment from me. Take that, potty mouths.
El G - ElGstr, on 01/09/2009, -0/+2Why Don’t Realtors Support A Real Estate Degree For Realtors?
http://digg.com/business_finance/Why_Don_t_Realtor ...
I love being lost in a woman's breasts. - Thwarter, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2It's about time the internet knocked this shady business practice down a peg or two. 6% is just too high of a percentage to pay someone for what is usually much less than 40 hours of actual work to make a deal.
Hopefully the RE agents, mortgage brokers and appraisers will stop their collusive business arrangements, reduce their fees and be more reasonable in order to compete.
Here in the Bay Area, median home prices are in excess of $700K which could cost over $42,000 in commision fees. That's just too damn much, especially in the last several years where homes basically sold themselves during the boom. Now with the slowdown in the RE markets agents have to work a little harder, but the work is still not even close to being worth what they charge.
Give me an internet site that charges a reasonable flat rate to list the property, guide me through the process and I'll be happy to do most of the leg work myself. - WilldeLegend, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2I don't understand people supporting crappy services like Redfin where you are paying a whole lot of money for the illusion of "saving thousands". What does Redfin provide? There are realtors in almost any area which will get your home on the MLS for a few hundred bucks and then you can offer the buyer's rep any amount you want (if you really want to "save" then tell the buyer's reps to get a buyer's agency and have their buyer pay them... but many will shy away).
- rubberbrush, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2
We agreed to do the deal ourselves and he passed half the savings on to me. - welshbaloney, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2@zoombusa
So what you seem to be ignoring is basic cost of living associated with a flat rate. I earn $X living in Richardson, TX. No way could I survive earning the same $$ for the same job in San Francisco. Flat rate won't work. - GorfTron, on 09/02/2008, -0/+1I think 50% of a Realtor's job is to cut through the deception and get to reality. This is what FSBO's learn the hard way - after a few crappy deals fall through. NEVER to take anything at face value. Do EVERYTHING in writing. NEVER VERBAL! EVER EVER EVER!! Get the buyer's credit approval in writing and follow up with the lender for specifics. Have the home inspected and ready to sell. Price realistically(your custom improvements are worth LESS than you think 90% of the time.(that include the heavy-duty nails and basement room)). I spoke with a top home flipper in my city and he said rule #1 is to verify all assumptions. Murphy's law rules the real estate industry. Get confirmation.
- zoombusa, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1understood... but really what incentive does the realtor have to sell for top dollar.
6% of 475K is 28.5K
6% of 500K is 30K
The seller loses the most when the house is not sold for top dollar. Would the seller be better off selling it themselves and taking the commission off of the price?
Don't get me wrong realtor's deserve to get paid, but really with the house prices going through the roof do they really deserve that huge of a cut?
I think the main reason why people are questioning it is because most people are not getting raises and many are losing jobs. Why should realtors get more money because the cost of housing goes up?
I encourage more people to list their house first by themselves. If they can't sell it then they can always use a realtor. - franksmith, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Great article
Realtors are not going away... just like the housing market is based on supply and demand... the Realtors that are successful and making good money are the ones that are providing value and service and there many that do... and there are also many that do not... and the ones that do not do not last.
Virtual vindication for real estate agents
Without brokers, home buyers and sellers find limited success on the Web
By Amy Hoak, MarketWatch
Last Update: 12:55 AM ET Aug 26, 2006
CHICAGO (MarketWatch) -- Steve Donovan considers himself Internet savvy.
So when the time came to sell his San Francisco home, he decided to work with a Web-based real estate company that promised to charge him less than a traditional, full-service agent.
The process didn't work out as planned.
"We had very silly bids coming in, well under-priced," Donovan said.
After his month-long contract expired, he changed to a traditional Realtor who staged the home and marketed it heavily -- both online and offline. It sold in 10 days.
His story helps illustrate how the Internet, while undoubtedly growing in popularity as a tool for buyers and sellers alike, has turned out to validate the role of the real estate professional. And Donovan's experience in home selling came in 2005, when the nation's real estate market was much hotter than it is today.
Indeed, the housing slowdown now unfolding only underscores how crucial of a role that brokers have as property owners brave chilly new headwinds. This past week saw a steady drumbeat of reports highlighting a severe slump taking hold, including industry data showing the number of homes on the market soaring to a 13-year high.
'The value and the service that the agents provide will never go away.'
— Marnie Blanco, Re/Max International
Many sellers have come to realize they're better off with the services of agents armed with the best possible marketing schemes they can find, either online or off. Sellers also benefit from neighborhood expertise agents bring when pricing their homes.
Buyers use the local expertise to find the right home, and they depend on an expert's skills at the negotiation table.
Real estate meets the Internet
When the Internet came into households across the land, it revolutionized the way people bought plane tickets, stealing business from bookers. It gave investors the power to trade stocks without stock brokers. As more and more real estate information came online, professionals in the field feared they'd share the same fate.
But after a while, recognizing the complexities of the home-purchase process, the profession took comfort in knowing that consumers wouldn't be able to take real estate as lightly as purchasing an airline ticket or booking a hotel room, said Marnie Blanco, a technology-services executive with Re/Max International.
"A home purchase can be an emotional purchase for you," she said.
Surfing the
real estate web
Selling a home on your own can also be emotional and time consuming. What the Internet does is educate consumers about what's out there, preparing them for the real estate road ahead of them.
The National Association of Realtors, the industry's trade group, estimates 77% of home buyers used the Internet to search for a home in 2005. A decade ago, only 2% did so.
Although use of the Internet for real estate information was high last year, statistics also show that consumers didn't turn their backs on agents. Indeed, 77% of home buyers worked with an agent or broker, and 12% worked with a builder while 9% bought their homes directly from the previous owner.
Increasingly, real estate professionals have gotten over their anxieties about the Internet costing them their jobs. Many are finding ways to tap into technology to educate consumers, market listings and market themselves with brokerage Web sites and their own blogs.
"The value and the service that the agents provide will never go away," Blanco said. Re/Max lists properties for markets throughout the country on its Web site, www.remax.com, as a way of empowering its consumers with information, she said.
Indeed, the Internet has become more of a research tool for prospective home buyers and sellers -- not a replacement for a real estate professional who can complete the transaction, said Raphael Bostic, a real estate economist with the Lusk Center for Real Estate at the University of Southern California.
"It's a good tool for gauging the market," he said.
The Internet-savvy seller
For sellers, one of the main advantages to using an agent's help is the marketing assistance they bring to the table. And there's a feeling that online marketing really does help to sell a home more quickly, Bostic said.
For that reason, sellers may want to consider an agent's online marketing plan before giving him or her the job of selling their house, said Janet Choynowski, chief executive of Immobel.com, a company that translates home listings into different languages.
Online exposure to properties can be especially beneficial for higher-end homes that may not sell to someone locally, she said. At the same time, younger home buyers interested in starter homes are also likely to start their searches online.
Sharing video or still images of a property is a key part of the Internet's revolutionary marketing power. It's hard to overestimate the value of good multimedia presentations to accompany a home's online listing, said Michael Russer, an international speaker and author who focuses on helping sales organizations work effectively with Internet-empowered consumers.
"You want to be able to paint a picture in the mind of the buyer as clearly and as eloquently as you can," said Russer, who is an Internet columnist for the National Association of Realtors.
Some agents fail to take enough photos, he said. Virtual tours, slide shows and 360-degree room views also are helpful in marketing a home online.
Sellers who are thinking about selling a home without an agent should keep in mind some of the pitfalls that can make it tougher to complete the deal at the right price -- even with the help that the Net has to offer.
Although sellers have more instant access to information on the values of homes in their neighborhoods through sites like Zillow.com, the volatile valuations on the site can conjure up a misleading picture of the marketplace, Bostic said.
Pricing a home also isn't based entirely on public-record information that can be found online, Blanco said. It won't, for example, explain how to price a home that's on a busy street or in a neighborhood that has a certain value tied to it, something an agent could do.
Correct pricing is often a key component of selling a home in a cooling climate. Plus, brokers have a ready-made pool of potential buyers, and in a slow market homes not being professionally marketed by an agent could take longer to sell, Bostic, the economist, said.
The Internet-savvy buyer
Of course, the Web helps buyers to be more efficient with their research. It's easier to narrow down the neighborhoods they're interested in, saving them from going some place to check out the property.
Web sites also are increasingly offering features including statistics about the neighborhood in which the home is situated, mortgage calculators and maps with bird's eye views.
On sites including Trulia.com, visitors can search by school district. "Schools have been a key decision factor in choosing where to locate," said Pete Flint, the site's co-founder and chief executive.
This week, the Web site Reply! (www.reply.com) launched a feature that allows visitors to make an unsolicited offer on any home in the United States. For $24.95, the company will deliver a package to the desired home, notifying its owner of the non-legally binding offer. The price per offer goes down if offers are made in bulk.
But experts don't believe that the majority will buy homes through the method. The company's chief executive offer, Payam Zamani, admits the feature caters to a savvy buyer and thinks there's an advantage for some people -- especially for first-time home buyers -- to work with an agent.
The number of people who locate their dream home via the Internet is slim, said Chad Ochsner, managing broker of Re/Max Alliance in Denver.
"The percentage of people who find (a home) online and that's the home they buy is still pretty small," Ochsner said. "What we're seeing is that people will start the process online."
If a buyer shows an agent listings he or she is interested in, that agent can better understand the client's needs, he said. Although many listings find their way to the Internet -- and Ochsner predicts even more will as more members of Generation X and Y venture into the market -- real estate professionals are still ahead of the curve when it come to inventory knowledge.
"Oftentimes the Realtors are going to know about properties that are going to be coming on the market well before the time that they do," he added.
But for consumers starting searches online, Russer advises avoiding sites that demand contact information to look around. Once an agent has a visitor's information in hand, expect a call -- right away.
A simple online search can also help buyers find specialists who cater to the specific kind of property -- whether it's a condominium or a waterfront property. Douglas Newby & Associates (www.dougnewby.com), for example, focuses on marketing architecturally significant homes in Dallas.
Buying or selling a home is still a "rather dysfunctional process" that involves many parties and occurs rather infrequently for the average homeowner, said Harley E. Rouda Jr., chief executive of the real estate firm Real Living (www.realliving.com). It's also a large investment that deserves an on-site inspection by the buyer. For those reasons, Rouda and others doubt that an entire transaction could be completed in cyberspace.
"It's not buying books or CDs or a yellow Volkswagen versus a blue Volkswagen," he said. "It's a very different product each time."
That said, he recently bought a lakeside cottage without seeing it in person. A virtual walk-through using a Realtor he knows and trusts cemented the deal. The mortgage, appraisal, title insurance and homeowner's insurance were all secured online. The contract was written subject to a physical inspection; his wife took the final look at it before closing.
"If we didn't have a Realtor in this community who we knew and trusted," Rouda said, "we couldn't have gone through the process in the way we did it." - Enlightenment, on 05/29/2008, -0/+1The entire housing industry needs an enema and thank god the government is finally opening up the MLS which is a start to flush most of the bad realtors and force the other ones to actually do some work. Any dumb ass can sell a house in a hot market...but only the best survive in a bad market.
- donolsen1155, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1What franksmith??? Realtors protect you from nothing!
I've just went through this process, and actually read the paperwork I had to sign for them to list my house. If you spend some time looking at the small print they have zero liability when it comes to what I told them about the house. They do not have an inspection done..they can't afford to be liable for anything I might lie about, or do not know about the house.
It's been like pulling teeth to get them to spend any money listing my house, so I'm really trying to figure out what they think they should get 6% for. What a waste of money.
Go Redfin! Maybe Craigslist can help... - dzzld, on 02/16/2009, -0/+1Realtors are using web sites to try to pump up business, but they're also going back to tried and true methods of marketing, like real estate postcards that let the neighbors know when they've just listed or sold a house. Sometimes snail-mail can seem a little more personal. You can see examples at http://bestrealestatepostcards.com.
- MorganaReno, on 01/16/2009, -0/+1Today, the damage from the global mortgage meltdown has more than matched that of the savings-and-loan bailouts of the 1980s and early 1990s. By some estimates, it has made that costly debacle look like chump change. But it's also clear that the FBI failed to avert a problem it had accurately forecast.
Banks and brokerages have written down more than $300 billion of mortgage-backed securities and other risky investments in the last year or so as homeowner defaults leaped and weakness in the real estate market spread." http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-mortgagefrau ...
Not only did the FBI fail, but here in Northern Nevada, so also did the Nevada Real Estate Division, the Reno and Sparks police departments, the Washoe County Sheriff, the IRS, the Nevada Mortgage Lending Division, the Washoe County District Attorney, Reno Justice Court judges, Sparks Justice Court judges, Washoe County District Court judges, the Nevada Attorney General, the Nevada governor, and the Reno-Sparks Association of Realtors as they ALL failed to enforce THEN existing laws, rules and code of ethics ALREADY in place that would have prevented Mortgage Fraud as A Growth Industry resulting in this terrible Housing Collapse/recession.
Just Do The Required Home Loan Modification, http://www.broowaha.com/article.php?id=4070 - DCMacHead, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1In your opinion, how does ziprealty.com compare to the other sites out there? It is the best, in my humble opinion, but I'd love to hear if there are other sites that are more complete datawise.
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