3 ms·

What about the idea of making it easier to sell a house using a "For Sale By Owner" then let more ppl list their own homes on craigslist or wherever they want.

What about the idea of making it easier to sell a house using a "For Sale By Owner" then let more ppl list their own homes on craigslist or wherever they want. If I was trying to sell my home I would want it on every single site out I could get it on. It seems like what would aid this is if there were about 10 standard contracts that everyone agreed to use. You could research it and know all about the type of contract you were going to use - about like learning a software license. Then any more give and take is just worked out in the price.

steveklabnik 17y ago
I think this idea is interesting. I think there's a real trend of the internet systematically destroying information gatekeepers; it makes sense, as the spread of information harms those who rely on the scarcity of information to make a profit. It's sort of like applying an open expert system to everything. I think this value proposition, "We make it easy to navigate x beaurocracy" is pretty interesting.
apinstein 17y ago
That's exactly what we do... http://www.neybor.com http://www.neybor.com. There are many companies that offer such a service today, and it is starting to help. Syndication is what will eventually allow the MLS monopoly to be broken I think... Five years ago probably 95% of homes found by buyers online were found via MLS search sites. But syndication has started to shift this number lower and distribute it among many other sites (trulia, zillow, craigslist, etc etc). As the % of online shoppers viewing true MLS data drops, brokers will continue to syndicate their listings to other sites, which will accelerate the shift away from MLS reliance even further. After a while, the monopoly will be broken and then you will start to see radical shifts like you describe where real estate agents are used for their professional services -- advice, negotiation, paperwork, and expertise, and NOT as an overpriced access fee to the MLS data.

steveklabnik 17y ago

I think this idea is interesting. I think there's a real trend of the internet systematically destroying information gatekeepers; it makes sense, as the spread of information harms those who rely on the scarcity of information to make a profit. It's sort of like applying an open expert system to everything. I think this value proposition, "We make it easy to navigate x beaurocracy" is pretty interesting.

apinstein 17y ago

That's exactly what we do... http://www.neybor.com http://www.neybor.com. There are many companies that offer such a service today, and it is starting to help. Syndication is what will eventually allow the MLS monopoly to be broken I think... Five years ago probably 95% of homes found by buyers online were found via MLS search sites. But syndication has started to shift this number lower and distribute it among many other sites (trulia, zillow, craigslist, etc etc). As the % of online shoppers viewing true MLS data drops, brokers will continue to syndicate their listings to other sites, which will accelerate the shift away from MLS reliance even further. After a while, the monopoly will be broken and then you will start to see radical shifts like you describe where real estate agents are used for their professional services -- advice, negotiation, paperwork, and expertise, and NOT as an overpriced access fee to the MLS data.