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Estate Agent. They used to add value in 2 ways: 1) a shop window on the high street to display homes for sale, and 2) the ability to produce high quality photog

by J-dawg 12y ago

Estate Agent. They used to add value in 2 ways: 1) a shop window on the high street to display homes for sale, and 2) the ability to produce high quality photographs and printed brochures. Now 1) is a website and 2) is trivial thanks to digital cameras. The industry seems highly vulnerable to disruption, and while there are some promising alternatives out there [1], most homes are still sold through traditional estate agents. Why? My best guess is that sellers feel uncomfortable showing strangers around their home and negotiating on price, and avoiding this discomfort is worth the agent's fee. But this feels like an unsatisfactory explanation. [1] e.g: http://www.tepilo.com http://www.tepilo.com

raquo 12y ago
Basically the whole real estate agents industry is structured in a way to make itself relevant. There is generally no incentive for the buyer to avoid using an agent, and in some cases it is hard for the seller to get enough exposure without an agent because other agents won't work with them. http://www.realtor.com/advice/who-pays-the-real-estate-agent/ http://www.realtor.com/advice/who-pays-the-real-estate-agent...
mtmail 12y ago
Estate agents still add value: be it writing good ads (not everybody can describe their property), spending time with lots of potential buyers, taking care of legal and financial matters. What should change though is the pricing structure. In a lot of countries contracts are still exclusive, payment is a provision (let's say 3-5% of the total value and thus high incentive to upsell a property), the buyer has to pay the agent fee and while one service is to pre-approve buyers there's never a guarantee or money-back if the buyer turns out bad. In my country to become an estate agent takes 1h and 35 Euro. Of course you can get certified. That's one weekend and 1000 Euro then. A fixed fee with maybe a fixed bonus paid by the seller would be the best model.
mrfusion 12y ago
Things we don't do frequently are very difficult to disrupt. Just look at the process for buying a mattress.

by J-dawg 12y ago

raquo 12y ago

Basically the whole real estate agents industry is structured in a way to make itself relevant. There is generally no incentive for the buyer to avoid using an agent, and in some cases it is hard for the seller to get enough exposure without an agent because other agents won't work with them. http://www.realtor.com/advice/who-pays-the-real-estate-agent/ http://www.realtor.com/advice/who-pays-the-real-estate-agent...

mtmail 12y ago

Estate agents still add value: be it writing good ads (not everybody can describe their property), spending time with lots of potential buyers, taking care of legal and financial matters. What should change though is the pricing structure. In a lot of countries contracts are still exclusive, payment is a provision (let's say 3-5% of the total value and thus high incentive to upsell a property), the buyer has to pay the agent fee and while one service is to pre-approve buyers there's never a guarantee or money-back if the buyer turns out bad. In my country to become an estate agent takes 1h and 35 Euro. Of course you can get certified. That's one weekend and 1000 Euro then. A fixed fee with maybe a fixed bonus paid by the seller would be the best model.

mrfusion 12y ago

Things we don't do frequently are very difficult to disrupt. Just look at the process for buying a mattress.