Last week, in "Broker proposes new real estate marketing platform: Universal MLS", Inman News Writer Glenn Roberts discussed a "Universal MLS" that is the brainchild of Colorado real estate broker Creed Smith, a specialist in bank-owned foreclosure properties. A real estate broker since 1987 who has a master's degree in marketing, Smith said his vision for a new breed of MLS is based on his belief that real estate agents and brokers will inevitably play a lesser role in real estate transactions as Web-based services become increasingly popular with consumers.
Smith is quoted as saying "I'm absolutely sure that the way we sell real estate is going to change," Smith said. "I foresee that there's going to be a division between what brokers do and what the Internet can do for buyers and sellers. I think the Internet is going to be the central marketing tool in creating specialized services for buyers and sellers. I think they're going to be able to find each other without a broker." He went on to say that he expects that real estate professionals of the future will focus more on handling the paperwork related to the transaction, such as purchase offers and disclosure documents.
I am amazed that Mr. Smith could have such an interesting concept in theory, yet present it in such a way to make most in our industry recoil in horror. It's not that I disagree with his premise that major changes are afoot in real estate: the MLS, as we know it, is terminal. Whether you believe that our MLS's sold us out or it's just the natural consequence of the free flow of information in the Internet age, the MLS, as THE place for property information is ending. As much as traditionalists may dislike the thought, there is simply no question that buyers and sellers, armed with information that they got WITHOUT going through an agent, will find each other more and more. Many sellers who have time will do their own marketing activities and buyers will do more of their own house hunting without us.
My problem with Smith is how he frames his argument and his apparent lack of understanding of what the Internet CANNOT do. He not only does a disservice to agents in cheapening their role, but, in pitching the wonders of the Internet as a matchmaking device without any acknowledgement of the importance of fiduciary counsel and care, he leaves the consumer increasingly vulnerable. A home is, to most people, their greatest financial asset. Buying or selling a home is not the same as selling clothes at a yard sale and without expert assistance, consumers "going it alone" more often than not, fail in their attempts to buy or sell for the greatest value. Read the full article...
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In reality, I don't think he is offering any more than Trulia, Googlebase, or Craig's list. He's just making noise for the media. The problem with a lot of these "internet agent replacement" companies is that they are started and run by technology people, who only see the numerical part of real estate, and ignore or don't recognize the emotional part. Creed Smith's experience includes specializing in REO properties, which are often bought by investors, so the $/sq ft is very important.
In a prior life, I was the technology guru for a REO management company, and felt similar to the way many of these companies seem to think. I sat behind my computer and looked at the numbers and thought that the agents were making way too much money for what they actually knew or did. Years later, when I came into the business as an agent, I grew an appreciation for working with real people who wanted more than an investment, and needed someone to hold their hands and help them through the whole transaction.
Buying a home is not like buying a book at Amazon, or a vacation on Expedia. One house can not simply be substituted for another based on purely quantifiable factors. For buyers to identify the home that they want to live in is the easy part. Getting through negotiations, disclosures, inspections, coordinating the possession dates, working through the chain of domino contingent sales, etc is where the rubber meets the road!