Are Real Estate Agents Becoming OBSOLETE?

[BossWebmaster]

With sites like Zillow and Trulia becoming more and more sophisticated, will agents be needed at all in the coming years? Sure agents have good advice and tips, but can't that be offered through some kind of online consulting?

The real estate agents may not be going extinct, but one thing is for sure, their role will change, probably become more specialized. Better quit whining and start adapting now, or you may face extinction in the coming years!

[SEO Nick]

Nothing beats working with a human being. I doubt Real Estate Agents will go out of style.

[AZAgent2]

Not sure about "extinct" I think there are to many facets to the business to just figure out yourself, Finding the homes (sure Zillow etc help but how do you get in?), verifying information about the homes, contracts, inspections and the negotiations that occur there. Just like FSBO's are there really that many of them taking their home all the way through close? Even with Zillow and all the “new websites to assist them” I would like to see any stats on that.

I do believe the internet will streamline the industry a ton, No longer do most agents have to show 50 homes to see if they like any just point them to your website with IDX and they will tell you what they want to see. That alone cuts 25-50% of the time out, but as far as the expertise involved I think the web can only do so much. Think about this the travel and stock businesses where changed overnight when the web got to the level that people were comfortable with and served the customer fully. In real estate commissions although trending downwards actual commissions I believe are up on average due to the large move up in prices. I would much rather receive 6% of a 200k home (now) then 7% of a 100k home as that’s what prices and commissions where 10 years ago.

[Morristown]

NO, There will always be a need for REALTORS. People do not buy what they cannot see, and FSBO's hove long proven that a home seller will screw things up most every time when they have direct contact with a buyer.

[RESteve]

I feel the major issue with taking professional representation out of the equation is that the parties enter a "gray" area.

This gray area is filled with mostly emotion, and very little logic. I think this is because sellers obviously have a deep connection with their home, and have the tendency to have their decisions motivated by their emotions at the time.

Buyers are constantly at the will of the ebb and flow that media injects to the masses through fear. Fear of a housing bubble, fear of a economy crash, or even fear that they are missing out on a good deal when times are great. Let alone being one of the biggest investments most families make, in my experience a buyer is quick to resort to emotions to make decisions as well.

In comes the agent. Having a real estate agent represent you brings both parties to reason with logic during negotiations, while also providing a "go-to man" in the event legal issues arise after the purchase. Coupled with the localization of real estate markets (which won't be changing any time soon), I feel the only reason anyone would think of losing the agents is because of "here-say" or hype.

Talk to anyone that has a great agent and see if they'd ever make a move without them.

[Discover Davis Homes]

Agents will not become obsolete. Technology is changing the business but there will always be people who will want to work with a professional when it comes to one of the biggest financial decisions of their lives.

[BossWebmaster]

I feel the major issue with taking professional representation out of the equation is that the parties enter a "gray" area.

This gray area is filled with mostly emotion, and very little logic. I think this is because sellers obviously have a deep connection with their home, and have the tendency to have their decisions motivated by their emotions at the time.

Buyers are constantly at the will of the ebb and flow that media injects to the masses through fear. Fear of a housing bubble, fear of a economy crash, or even fear that they are missing out on a good deal when times are great. Let alone being one of the biggest investments most families make, in my experience a buyer is quick to resort to emotions to make decisions as well.

In comes the agent. Having a real estate agent represent you brings both parties to reason with logic during negotiations, while also providing a "go-to man" in the event legal issues arise after the purchase. Coupled with the localization of real estate markets (which won't be changing any time soon), I feel the only reason anyone would think of losing the agents is because of "here-say" or hype.

Talk to anyone that has a great agent and see if they'd ever make a move without them.

A very good answer, the best I've gotten yet. I've been peddling this fear mongering debate on multiple social communities, and that is the best rebuttal I've gotten yet.

[RESteve]

I hope you don't mind; I brought your question and my response over to my tech blog so I can get some opinions from my readers as well.

[Michael Paul Eau Claire]

IMO - Extinct, no. Role changing? Yes. Realtors used to have all the power (information), which is now disseminated on the internet. Most people need handholding, but the fact that my flat-fee business is thriving proves to me that more and more people are not afraid to take on some of the responsibilities once held exclusively by Realtors. Just my opinion.

[Goknights]

I feel like I've seen this post before....