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Because for 99% of buyers R, Z and T are search engines for listings. They lead the buyer to the
represented property and they do that job far better than the realtor sponsored listings do.
Don't fight them. Embrace them (or make a deal to use their better sw).
I love redfins site, and I think their idea of mapping the search is genius. i also think that their iPhone app is the best there is (and I tried trulia, zillow, and some others I don't recall). So they are good at something!
Also, there is a percentage of people who need minimal help in buying or selling a property (and virtually no handholding), so these people can - and should - benefit from the rebate redfin is offering. But lets be honest, the percentage of such people is pretty small. There is bigger percentage of people who *think* they can do it with minimal help, only to discover later that they need *lots* of handholding. So they are frustrated, and reach out to a full service agent.
I think it is wonderful being helped by a knowledgeable sales person. It saves a lot of time, stress, and aggravation, and even if it doesn't save me money in the end, my peace of mind and ease of transaction are worth paying for it. But that's me. I like good service, and I'm happy to pay for it. I also happen to know well what I want, and am always lucky finding great professionals providing quality service (be it contractor, real estate agent or cleaning lady).
Problem is, that many people don't try hard enough to find a good agent, are indecisive in general and have no idea what they want, and blame the whole real estate industry...
It's all business, and every biz model has the right to exist, and will find it's customers. But how many customers - time will tell. And apparently, full price brokers are still in demand. I am not surprised.
Location: Mokelumne Hill, CA & El Pescadero, BCS MX.
6,957 posts, read 22,309,298 times
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Cars are a commodity, Travel is a commodity, Information is a commodity, Real Estate transactions aren't.
Every single piece of real estate is unique and brings it's own nuances to the table. Add in the spectrum of the uniqueness of the parties in a real estate transaction and you are left with the human element, which no website or robot can deal with, (At least with the current technology).
Redfin doesn't operate within 200 miles of my market area, Zillow can't figure out why it's Zestimates aren't right and Trulia pulls so much garbage data, (Thank you RealtyTrac) that there's no telling if one is looking at real information.
Even our MLS software can't locate a reasonable amount of map data for a lot of the listings (thank you agents who don't know how to manually geolocate your listing) and the system defaults to locating the listing to the MLS office location!
Drones can do a lot of things that humans can't in warfare, but drones are wildly helped by boots on the ground. When boots on the ground aren't needed anymore, maybe the business model will adapt and change.
My attorney has remarked more than once to me; "I would never consider doing all the work without money up front and hope for a successful conclusion." He's obviously not a trial lawyer, who takes 33% of the recovery upon winning a settlement.
Zillow, Trulia, and Redfin are no match for the sheer awesomeness of the agents on this forum.
oh and what would a post be without a bunch of smileys...
Actually, the use of agents is going down. More and more people are choosing not to use agents. It is just a matter of time before most transactions are completed without the use of the traditional real estate agent.
No, it doesn't happen overnight but like the travel industry and many other service industries, it will happen.
That isn't to say agents will go away but brokers too will find alternatives to paying commissions to agents. While brokers are in a better position, agents will either need to adapt or risk the result travel agents and many other commission based services realized.
Zillow, Trulia, and Redfin are no match for the sheer awesomeness of the agents on this forum.
oh and what would a post be without a bunch of smileys...
Thanks for sharing this article. I laughed a little at the paragraph which said that the rebate Redfin offers has shrunk as the company has offered their clients more services. In some manner, I feel that validates the cost structure of the old business model.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mack Knife
Actually, the use of agents is going down. More and more people are choosing not to use agents. It is just a matter of time before most transactions are completed without the use of the traditional real estate agent.
You've said this over and over again. Yet, you've never shared a resource or statistic that proves your statement. All the statistics I've seen have said agent use has gone up in the last five years.
Actually, the use of agents is going down.
More and more people are choosing not to use agents.
Maybe with investor types and other highly experienced players...
but not among the plain vanilla once in ten or twenty years residential buyers.
If anything, because of the REA agent and title co efforts to sideline the use of attorneys
for closings, there are probably FEWER no agent involved sales than ever before.
(FTR I don't believe this is a good thing)
You've said this over and over again. Yet, you've never shared a resource or statistic that proves your statement. All the statistics I've seen have said agent use has gone up in the last five years.
Yep.
He sneered at references to the value of integrity and reputation in one of his earliest posts.
It's the old saw, "Keep telling a lie until people embrace it as truth."
Yep.
He sneered at references to the value of integrity and reputation in one of his earliest posts.
It's the old saw, "Keep telling a lie until people embrace it as truth."
He's said it so many times I'm thinking he might have actually convinced himself that it's true.
Quote:
Originally Posted by MrRational
If anything, because of the REA agent and title co efforts to sideline the use of attorneys for closings, there are probably FEWER no agent involved sales than ever before.
(FTR I don't believe this is a good thing)
Here in MA we have at least one attorney present at every closing. The use of REA's meanwhile is quite common in this state.
This article references data which is at least a year old at this point.
When you have an old fashioned monopoly like the NAR, it takes time to break it down. And some markets and some things, perception takes even longer.
Look at autos; American made cars are much better than they were a decade ago, yet the negative stereotypes persist. Certain Japanese manufacturers quality has greatly fallen, yet the positive stereotypes still persist.
Realtors continue to stick their heads in the sand about the fact they could easily reduce transaction costs by leveraging technology and still keep their commissions, but they refuse to do either. Rather than focus on their strengths (knowledge of local markets, knowledge of neighborhoods, builders, communities, etc) they spend millions and millions to fight Redfin and their ilk.
Where I live in Maryland, it's hard to argue Redfin's success. The % of transactions they lead is increasing every month, regardless of inventory fluctuations. If I add in other companies with similar models, the % is crazy high - over 20%.
And if you measure the % of transactions in my market where the commission is 2.5% versus being 3%, it's a huge drop off from a few years ago. That drop had to come from somewhere.
The data is all out there and the story it's telling is very clear (to me anyway).
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