ARE YOU SMARTER THAN YOUR CONSUMER?
From the advent of the MLS information was the key. The access to this information was "the" reason the consumer used a real estate agent. Need to find a house? A buyer almost always had to work with an agent to find the current listings available. Need to sell a house? The operation works in reverse and an agent was needed to perform the 4 P's - Price It, Put up a Sign, Put It in the MLS and Pray.
There are literally hundreds of data aggregation sites available for the consumer to visit. This does not count the tens of thousands of agent sites that have IDX or other MLS portals. Then there is the too numerous to list sites that offer home valuation services where the consumer can discover the value of their property. Compounding this service is the multitude of agent sites offering free CMAs as a way to lure the consumer.
Recent circumstances has caused a proliferation of foreclosure sites and the once niche market offering "exclusive-access" to foreclosed properties is gone. Even the segmented For-Sale-By-Owner market is serviced by various websites specific to that market.
In today's real estate environment access to listing information is a commodity to be displayed on numerous websites formatted with different "bait" using various "poles" all intending to "hook-the-fish", the proverbial fish being the consumer. Since data has become a commodity that is available to anyone with a 5th grade intelligence and Internet Access,
What role does the real estate agent play?
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