I have primarily been a buyer & leasing agent in my market and have decided not to really focus on sellers until now. My broker started offering flat fee listings and now gets flooded with calls and emails to get homes on the market. It seems to me that day by day more sellers are getting the upper hand on reducing listing side commissions. While I do agree that it takes a lot of marketing and money to obtain a cold call listing, once you have put it on the MLS most agents sit back and wait for a buyers agent to bring in an offer. I know some offices do not even allow you to handle both sides of the transaction.

Not to ramble on endlessly, my main question is:

• Will buyers rebates & flat fee listings mean the end of high cost real estate agents the way Orbitz & Expedia have caused the demise of travel agents?

Final Word:

I know agents will always have a place in the world but with the recession and homes losing value how much longer can traditional listing fees be sustained? I'm sure there were old timer travel agents that felt like the service they provided would allow them to always be in business. But history has shown over and over that convenience, ease of use, and lower prices trump personal attention & service over and over again, for example:

Any Thoughts?