How many years until realtors are replaced by Redfin/Uber/Zillow/etc?

[Anonymous]

It will happen within one generation. Many of the current buyers and sellers were adults before the Internet. Therefore they probably bought or sold property when it truly was necessary to use a realtor. However, the current generation did not and will begin to become confused as to what the role of an agent is and why they are earning such a huge profit when the buyer/seller is doing the majority of the work in many cases. The industry will eventually change where you can pay to have someone search for a home or provide advisory services. The actual process of placing an offer and a standard search will not require an agent earning 4-6 percent.

[Anonymous]

the oldest scam in business.....realtors....glad to know your days are numbered!!

[Anonymous]

Realtors add nothing and tend to screw everything up, either intentionally or due to negligence.

[Anonymous]

It's not for lack of trying that this hasn't happened, but it's inevitable that an enterprising business will crack the code given the money involved.

[Anonymous]

Not soon enough!

[Anonymous]

Put me in the category of never.


Real estate isn't like buying a stock - it is personal, it is a large investment, you live there. There is a story attached to every transaction.


This market's love affair with Redfin, or at least the idea of Redfin, stems from the fact that in high population areas there is more liquidity around real estate and a lot more data to use. I would never use Redfin personally but I can understand the attraction from some. I have never been one to try to extract every single dime from a transaction.

[Anonymous]

In justifying the existence of realtors and their fees, people keep talking about how "they don't want to squeeze every penny out of a transaction" or "are happy to pay for good value of a realtor".

My crappy small 1400 sf rowhouse is worth $1.3m. When I sell next year (for a job relocation), it is general knowledge in our sought after neighborhood that so long as you price within $100k of the appropriate value, the house will be sold at the open house. The commission at 6% is $80,000.

Are you saying I am "trying to squeeze every last penny out" if I think $80,000 is a ridiculous fee to pay for an open house and maybe 10 hours of work in closing out the contract??? We're not talking about $3000 like in 1990. We're talking about eighty thousand dollars.

[Anonymous]

is all the hatred toward realtors due to the commissions they earn? just curious because there is a lot of hate and vitriol!

and no, not an agent just a curious DCUM'er

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:is all the hatred toward realtors due to the commissions they earn? just curious because there is a lot of hate and vitriol!

and no, not an agent just a curious DCUM'er

See the post above.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:In justifying the existence of realtors and their fees, people keep talking about how "they don't want to squeeze every penny out of a transaction" or "are happy to pay for good value of a realtor".

My crappy small 1400 sf rowhouse is worth $1.3m. When I sell next year (for a job relocation), it is general knowledge in our sought after neighborhood that so long as you price within $100k of the appropriate value, the house will be sold at the open house. The commission at 6% is $80,000.

Are you saying I am "trying to squeeze every last penny out" if I think $80,000 is a ridiculous fee to pay for an open house and maybe 10 hours of work in closing out the contract??? We're not talking about $3000 like in 1990. We're talking about eighty thousand dollars.

I completely agree with you. 80K is obscene. It doesn't make any sense. At this price point 1-2 percent would be fair and still a lot for approx 10 hours of work.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:In justifying the existence of realtors and their fees, people keep talking about how "they don't want to squeeze every penny out of a transaction" or "are happy to pay for good value of a realtor".

My crappy small 1400 sf rowhouse is worth $1.3m. When I sell next year (for a job relocation), it is general knowledge in our sought after neighborhood that so long as you price within $100k of the appropriate value, the house will be sold at the open house. The commission at 6% is $80,000.

Are you saying I am "trying to squeeze every last penny out" if I think $80,000 is a ridiculous fee to pay for an open house and maybe 10 hours of work in closing out the contract??? We're not talking about $3000 like in 1990. We're talking about eighty thousand dollars.

Awwww poor you with the million dollar home

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:is all the hatred toward realtors due to the commissions they earn? just curious because there is a lot of hate and vitriol!

and no, not an agent just a curious DCUM'er

It's a major contributor. They're also generally a sleazy bunch. If they were sleazy and only earned what a used car salesman makes, then I don't think there'd be so much hate. Some agents are good, but it's a small club.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:is all the hatred toward realtors due to the commissions they earn? just curious because there is a lot of hate and vitriol!

and no, not an agent just a curious DCUM'er

Because it is perceived that the commissions are not in line with the amount of work performed and the time needed to get the credentials.
In other words: bloodsuckers.

[Anonymous]

A traditional agent represented me on a contract and after realizing that he was not advocating in my best interest, I pulled out of the deal. The agent refused to let me see the house a third time, before final ratification, for a very minor issue. After I canceled the contract, the agent followed-up apologizing.

The house closed for $57,000 less than my offer. My minor issue would have cost less than $1,000 to fix and about 15 minutes to verify the need for the fix.

I am with RedFin now.

[Anonymous]

I think people only feel this strongly about agents in high dollar markets. My average commission is about $6,000, and I have yet to have any client give me a sideways glance about it. Also, homes have been selling like hotcakes over the last few years, so agents seem less necessary, but when the next pull back comes, sellers will be more willing to pay full commissions because the homes will take longer and need more marketing skill to sell.