In the 1995 movie, The American President, there is a scene where President Andrew Shepherd, played by Michael Douglas, is in a heated discussion with his domestic policy advisor, Lewis Rothschild, played by Michael J. Fox, about the President's falling poll numbers.

In this scene Rothschild pleads: "People want leadership, Mr. President, and in the absence of genuine leadership, they'll listen to anyone who steps up to the microphone. They want leadership. They're so thirsty for it they'll crawl through the desert toward a mirage, and when they discover there's no water, they'll drink the sand." 

To which President Shepherd responds: "People don't drink the sand because they're thirsty, Lewis. They drink the sand because they don't know the difference."

Let me rephrase this exchange as it applies to today's real estate consumer:

Today's consumer clearly wants choices in the real estate services they can receive and how they can pay for them. They are so hungry for choices that in their absence from professionals, they will listen to anyone who says that they offer the same services for less. But when they find out that the "same services for less" promise is just a mirage, it only serves to harden their belief that agents are all the same and not worth much at that.

In an environment where online portals are popping up almost daily, promising something for almost nothing, and Internet-savvy consumers who often believe that the Internet can replace an agent, real estate services with little or no professional guidance attached are increasingly being purchased. But overwhelmingly, consumers aren't buying these pared-down services because they want cheaper. They're buying these services because they don't know the difference. To Read More, Click Here.