Front Page of USA Today Page Today

[Chief Tutor]

Check out this article on the front page of USA Today. Read the article as the first part is negative to real estate agents, but the second part shows the importance of Real Estate agents in today's real estate market.

http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/technology/2006-05-07-real-estate-online_x.htm

Good Marketing Material to Promote your online knowledge.

[HomeSurfer]

Realtors are no longer the only "gateway" to listing information, since it is avaliable on Realtor.com and elsewhere, through IDX and VOW, and this has caused a gradual transition among agents to focus on on their "advice and guidance" role in the real estate transaction.

Which I agree with.

One problem with the predicted "shakeup" in the industry (as suggested by the article) is the issue of liability. If agents can get sued for something minor like not properly stating the square footage of a home (which shouldn't be the agent's job), then they should continue to earn big bucks.

Plus, the beginning of the article is funny. The seller dumps the agent, drops the price of the home by $50,000, has only ten showings in four months, and had only three offers -- all "lowball" offers. It sounds to me like we are talking about a house that is in about the $850,000 range in (hold it, I can check)...The current price is $825,000.

Anyway, 10 showings and three lowball offers. And she thinks that is good?

That's a FSBO, for you.

It is a custom designed and built 7000 square foot home with a three-car carport (no enclosed garage), a flat roof and short ceilings. I cannot imagine it is typical for the area. I dont' think I would want to list that home.

[JohnHoward]

With regards to the USA report in the Real Estate business, the Internet is changing the Real Estate Industry in my area. Some agents are adapting while other agents on are on the old path of the Industry. The shakeup might be in the future of agents who understand where the Buyer is shopping for homes and letting their Sellers know, that they are tracking the market changes and adapting themselves to it. When agents compete for listings, and one of them shows how he or she can present their home to the 92% of the Buyers using the Internet and the other agent is showing the Seller his or her print material marketing plan, one can pretty much figure out who the Seller will be working with. This could be the Real Estate shake coming in the Industry. I ‘am putting my bets on sooner than later.

[HomeSurfer]

My opinion is that the Internet is having more impact on the listing side than on the selling side. Just my opinion, and everyone has one.

[MileHighAgent.com]

I'm glad to be on the internet - right here with the Buyers and Sellers! I agree that a property having 10 showings and 3 low ball offers has problems other than an agent. I wish USAToday would have interviewed the agent to find out why the agent thinks the Seller had trouble selling the property. An agent listing the property doesn't mean the Seller is taking any of the agent's advice and proper steps to selling the property. Sounds like the Sellers priced the property too high in the first place...and did it ever sell???

[promortplanner]

1st off - did the home ever sell and did the homeowner have all of their teeth?

Just the same as in financing/lending, the market in the last few years got hit with a wave of people looking to make a fast buck in the real estate market. These are people who never got the proper training and quite frankly don't belong. They reduce our reputations to that of used car salesmen. Order takers who need to go back to the Mc Donalds drive through window from which they came.

I don't dispute a shake-up in the real estate market. As of this year employment figures for the industry have declined. Some people will get out as quick as they came in and a majority will hopefully be these "order takers".

As much as the internet has made it more accessible for consumers to access the MLS and get better information to gain more control of their decisions when buying real estate - the need for more knowledgeable qualified real estate agents has never been greater. I doubt the need for that will ever go away if not get stronger. While the internet will pave the way for those who want to chart the waters alone without a qualified real estate agent leading them away from the agents commission - more will go to the internet for information that will lead them to the next generation of future real estate agents.