These sites are good first steps in what I see as an eventual transformation of the real estate brokerage industry; but I think it is still in its infancy and many homeowners are still better off going with a full service agent.
I agree. I think this is the direction we are heading eventually but in the far future. The 3% - 6% transaction cost involved in every RE deal makes RE investments inefficient. I am not an agent, my livelihood is not at stake, therefore my angle is obviously different. But I truly feel if we can make RE investment more efficient by lower the transaction cost significantly, RE investment as a whole will be better.
I am in the health care business and we have a lot of oversight and penalties involved because we handle people's most important asset, their health.
But, I have always been fascinated by how little oversight and penalties there are in RE. Yet, they handle most people's 2nd largest asset, their homes.
The lack of required transparency, the ethical conflicts of dual agent, and the extreme ease of acquiring a real estate agent license are just a few things off the top of my head that makes the current setup in RE seem questionable.
Yes, you do need a good agent in the current environment because the current RE setup is very flawed.
You echoed one of the things that I’ve always had a problem with in terms of becoming a real estate agent....the ease of getting your license with no educational requirement, no apprenticeship requirement, any easy exam with a high pass rate, etc. the reality is that over 80% of agents will fail and/or not be able to make a living being a real estate agent so it sorta becomes a big cash grab for the National, State, and local realtor associations. It’s a joke how easy it is to get a real estate license, especially if you compare it to how difficult it is to get a CPA license.
I’ve worked with a lot of agents over the past 10+ years and basically a third of agents are a pleasure to work with and knowledgeable, a third of agents are barely competent, and a third of agents are just a total waste of space. Working on a transaction with a good agent makes things go much smoother with less issues and last minute surprises. Even from my point of view as a realtor, a good agent is worth their weight in gold.
One thing is clear, the old real estate model has to evolve and change because it’s as old as a fossil. Most all realtors lack the ability to think out of the box and inovate and just end up following the same thing that they were thought by their mentor who was thought by their mentor who was taught by their mentor (you get the idea). As the saying goes, evolve or die. But hey, that’s fine because I look that much better with my work-effort Buyer commission credit model and my unique pay-for-performance listing commission model.
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