How Do You Play With the Big Boys?

Nice website, i hope it all works out for you

Yes, it is a little worrisome. The industry is changing and with the ease of information flow it empowers consumers more and more everyday. However, some people are not going to spend hours researching homes, sales etc. They will still want the services of a Realtor. Why wouldn't they? On the buy side it does not cost them anything. I can see commissions being reduced over time. Just a hunch.

Are there reasons for a real estate agent to be scared?  Possibly, depends on how you look at things.  I think you can look at the new technology and tools out there as glass being half empty or being half full.  I choose to look at it as half full, how much time did a traditional agent spend doing tasks like looking for properties, driving around clients and pulling comps that really don't require any skill?  Won't this now allow us to focus on tasks that technology can't replace like assisting our clients in processing all of this overhelmng amout of information to form a conclusion that they can act on?  Shouldn't these tools allow us to be more productive?  What are you doing to help your client throughout the homebuying and selling process?  You need to be able to answer this question and sell it.  If you're not bringing any value to the transaction then you need to worry.   Clients can pull comps online but do they know what comps a banks appraiser will allow and why?  I do and I can share that with them.  Do clients know the neighborhoods well enough to know that 1 house 3 blocks away may be in a totally different neighborhood that invalidates it as a comp?  How well does the client know the local school districts and the value they add to different potential properties they are considering?  There are hundreds of different real estate websites with thousands of different charts, graphs, gadgets and tools?  What metrics should a client care about and which are meaningless?  I can help you filter out the noise and help you focus on whats important to consider in making a solid investment.

Also while this technology helps buyers it also helps sellers making things more competitive and challenging for buyers.  In past downtimes in the RE market buyers and investors could get better deals because banks had to struggle to get rid of their inventory.  Not in this cycle, REO properties in my market (Los Angeleles & Orange County, California) are flying off the shelf, very often with multiple offers.  Banks can post their bankowned properties online and have those properties syndicated across the internet.  Some banks like Ocwen have setup their own REO retail department and are actually selling their properties direct without using an outside REO broker.  But as anyone who has represented a buyer purchasing a bank owned transaction knows, the terms banks impose on buyers are horrid.  Banks do everything in their power to dump their subpar quality inventory onto buyers without giving buyers any of the normal protections they are entitled to in a standard transaction.  Buyers need to understand these terms and assistance in conducting the proper amount of due diligence within their contractually allowed time periods.

Also in my market Carson, Long Beach, Whittier, Norwalk CA short sales are huge.  Any agent that has listed and sold short sales knows how much work goes into those.  Does redfin do short sales?  No?  why not, I thought they were all about service? Are they denying the need for clients to avoid foreclosure and get rid of debts they can't support financially?  As innocent and helpful as redfin tries to portray themselves they are still a business and like all other real estate companies are only going to offer services to clients in areas they can profit from.