Posted by admin on June 27th, 2006
Overpaid or justly compensated?
As another wave of attacks has been wagered on the real estate industry and the existing commission structure, voice your sentiments as to whether agents are overpaid or justly compensated. (Overpaid!) Inman News is currently running a survey for individuals in the real estate industry to leave feedback anonymously to determine where members stand and what types of split they have with their broker.
See Also
Posted by admin on June 27th, 2006
Real estate crash will not cause recession
If history is any indicator, according to the UCLA Anderson Forecast, we can expect the real estate market to crash as opposed to the market slowdown everyone is hoping for. Only this time, it would not lead to a national recession. A recent poll conducted by AOL found that 51 percent of the 61,000 respondents believe the real estate market will burst in the next year, 37 percent thought it won’t burst, and 12 percent responded that they did not know. What do you think? Is your market slowing? Is inventory rising? I will join the 37 percent of respondents and say the bubble will not burst, we will just see a slowdown. What’s with the 12 percent of people answering they didn’t know? It’s an opinion, pick one or the other, not I don’t know.
Posted by admin on June 27th, 2006
Alternatives to the traditional real estate commissions
At a recent convention Steve Levitt, the author of "Freakonomics," shared some interesting facts and views about the real estate industry. He has been criticized by the National Association of Realtors and many agents for his prediction for the future of the real estate industry. His findings include:
- Due to low entry barriers for new real estate agents the median income has not increased over the last 10 years even though prices are up almost 70 percent in some places.
- Real estate agents tend to sell their own homes for about 3 percent more than the selling price of their clients’ homes.
- Real estate agents tend to leave their own homes on the market about 10 percent longer than their clients’.
He also shared a story criticizing the ethical motivations of real estate agents citing a personal experience. He contacted the listing agent of a home he was interested in order to determine a minimum offer that would be considered by the seller. The agent then explained the seller would be willing to accept offers significantly lower than the asking price so she could pocket an extra $20,000 to 30,000 in commissions costing her clients over $50,000. Sound fair? This problem certainly would not be encountered using a flat fee MLS service, where you - the seller - are in control of the transaction. Cost effective alternatives like flat fee MLS provide a viable option for home sellers and for sale by owners to market their homes. In fact Levitt explains he thinks flat fee MLS and limited service brokers will provide the knockout punch to the traditional model.
See Also
Posted by admin on June 27th, 2006
New laws make the home listing process more confusing
Minimum service laws have now been passed in over a dozen states across the nation in efforts to slow the evolution of flat fee MLS companies and limited service providers. Even though these minimum service requirements vary from state to state, the result is the same, leaving consumers confused and curious. Laws are requiring listing brokers to disclose which services will and will not be provided, consumers to waive services unwanted, or mandating agents perform specific services. The shameful reality is "we all know the real issue is protecting…the full service agencies from these so called ‘limited service’ providers," as stated by Brian Jones of Century 21. These laws are detrimental to the end user, and not protective of consumers in the least bit - the waters are only muddied with increased paperwork and industry jargon. These dubious laws have gotten the attention of the Department of Justice who is working to determine what effect this will have on the competitive nature of the industry and overall consumer choice. The bottom line is consumers need to be heard!
See Also
Posted by admin on June 27th, 2006
New laws make the home listing process more confusing
Minimum service laws have now been passed in over a dozen states across the nation in efforts to slow the evolution of flat fee MLS companies and limited service providers. Even though these minimum service requirements vary from state to state, the result is the same, leaving consumers confused and curious. Laws are requiring listing brokers to disclose which services will and will not be provided, consumers to waive services unwanted, or mandating agents perform specific services. The shameful reality is "we all know the real issue is protecting…the full service agencies from these so called ‘limited service’ providers," as stated by Brian Jones of Century 21. These laws are detrimental to the end user, and not protective of consumers in the least bit - the waters are only muddied with increased paperwork and industry jargon. These dubious laws have gotten the attention of the Department of Justice who is working to determine what effect this will have on the competitive nature of the industry and overall consumer choice. The bottom line is consumers need to be heard!
See Also
Posted by admin on June 19th, 2006
Consumers are disadvantaged by the current system
As stated last week this is a good read! If you are a homeowner trying to keep abreast of real estate current events, then you need to read the Consumer Federation’s attack on the existing real estate structure. Discrimination against non-traditional alternative brokers, unregulated multiple listing services (MLS), lack of consumer knowledge, and the large number of real estate professionals who sit on state real estate regulatory boards stifle competition in the real estate industry and it’s up to consumers to take the initiative and make a difference. Minimum service requirements established by several states discourage, and in some cases prevent, non-traditional alternative brokers like flat fee MLS companies. NAR has responded by arguing that the industry has plenty of competition with its over 2 million licensees. Considering the barriers for entry are so low, how competitive is it really? Do licensees of two months deserve the same compensation of an agressive veteran? According to the current industry standard they do.
Posted by admin on June 15th, 2006
Dealing with Real Estate Ag
