Real Estate Agents: Then and Now
“Don’t let the buyer know the addresses the houses you are going to show them until they are in your car! Otherwise, you can’t be sure that you will get the deal.” This advice was given to me by an experienced agent when I first began selling real estate in 1990. Boy how times have changed!
From stocks, to travel, to real estate, the Internet has empowered buyers with direct access to information that they previously could only get from their agent/broker. However, unlike stocks and travel which are essentially commodities, buying or selling a home is a very complicated matter.
Still, with so much information available on sites such as CleanOffer.com and others, empowered buyers expect a far different level of expertise from their agent than they did in days past. The old model of the real estate agent controlling consumer access to property information is disintegrating and is being replaced by one where agents are paid largely for their value-added advice. Simply telling buyers, “123 Main Street just came on the market for $925K”, or “it has a lovely kitchen”, simply doesn’t cut it anymore. Agents now must prove they are experts in negotiation, finance, problem solving, local market knowledge, service provider recommendations, etc. The Internet will not replace agents who have this expertise, rather it enhances their value. On the other hand, those agents without these skills must hone up or watch their business decline.
What do you think?
From stocks, to travel, to real estate, the Internet has empowered buyers with direct access to information that they previously could only get from their agent/broker. However, unlike stocks and travel which are essentially commodities, buying or selling a home is a very complicated matter.
Still, with so much information available on sites such as CleanOffer.com and others, empowered buyers expect a far different level of expertise from their agent than they did in days past. The old model of the real estate agent controlling consumer access to property information is disintegrating and is being replaced by one where agents are paid largely for their value-added advice. Simply telling buyers, “123 Main Street just came on the market for $925K”, or “it has a lovely kitchen”, simply doesn’t cut it anymore. Agents now must prove they are experts in negotiation, finance, problem solving, local market knowledge, service provider recommendations, etc. The Internet will not replace agents who have this expertise, rather it enhances their value. On the other hand, those agents without these skills must hone up or watch their business decline.
What do you think?
posted by Top Agent Network at 4:19 PM
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