Real Estate Agent, the Web and the future

Sat, 17 Apr 2010 19:27:06 +0000

The Internet is doing to real estate agents, how is it to travel agencies? This question has incited fear in some of the real estate world. The recent introduction of a do-it-yourself real estate site from one of the founders of Expedia. com has a new urgency to the debate. But the fact remains that we are good at the maturity of e-commerce era, there’s no end to the broker industry in the city. Brokers are finally out of the Internet competition forests?

As the Web has done to travel agencies

If you are not familiar with has had the effect of the Internet on consumer travel industry, just pay a visit to local to your travel agent. Most likely you will find either an empty building, or another company. It is generally believed that the Internet can travel above all, do-it-yourself sites like Expedia, Travelocity, Orbitz and Priceline, has to help as more competitive than most travel agents. How were the sites that hit the travel agencies? There were probably two major factors:

Cost. Cost is the most frequently cited factor in the decline in consumer travel industry. This was a case of “cutting out the middle man” was not just a slogan. When an agent had not paid, should a trip that usually have much cheaper. But perhaps the biggest challenge for the travel agents do not cost savings for consumers, but to the airlines. The airlines pushed aggressively cut the new travel Web sites, agents’ commissions at the same time. It is generally believed that the airline more money, they could sell over the Internet or through agents was obtained.

Knowledge. Travel agencies themselves had to be sold to customers largely based on their knowledge of travel planning and travel locales in which they are sold, and their ability to find the lowest fares and the best value hotel room. But the Internet to provide that much knowledge to people in the area. For example, airlines published fares and even cut-rate “Consolidator” fees are now only one way to search the web. Ditto for hotel rates, travelers reported, local profiles and the State Department advisories.

Real Estate Agents and the Web: Better Outlook?

The commercial mass market World Wide Web is now more than 10 years old, and unlike travel agents, estate agents are still good. In fact, in recent years, the ranks of brokers seen waves with thousands of people, which the site is not to think only exciting, but potentially lucrative. Could it be that there are problems with the comparison between agents and brokers?

Looking to the future of Real Estate and the Web

What will the future look like for real estate agents? The new Web site, Zillow. com, a founder of the travel site Expedia founded. com, may point the way. Despite all excited to the travel agent vs broker equations by the operators, can not really give visitors the opportunity to buy or sell real estate. At least for the moment, then you can influence that agents on the important issue of cost.

But Zillow. com can be a real challenge for agents in the field of knowledge. As reported in the Los Angeles Times, the website should Kelley Blue Book for real estate which is for cars: an easy way to find out the value of a property. Enter the address, and you get a number, even if the property is not on the market.

To be sure, many real estate agents quoted in the media of the machine generated property values mocked through the site. But the knowledge that the Internet offers buyers and sellers know only one available to estate agents – is probably better in the future. Choose more knowledge buyers and sellers do? Will they just demand a better deal from real estate agents? Or agents to be able to justify their services and fees present?

One thing is how real estate market is more difficult.

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Real Estate Agent, the Web and the future