Another post from an investor's perspective. 

The lexicon of marketing jagon came up with the "leading edge vs. bleeding edge" concept a few years ago.  The first guys out of the gate often get chewed up, while the fast-followers hop in once the market has been primed.  Anyone out there remember the Sony Betamax? 

In my area, current FSBO's are bleeding edge. 

When I drive by an FSBO I stop and write down the number.  Why?  Because it's unlikely that the house is in the MLS system.  So it doesn't matter if the seller is the best salesman/negotiator in the world, he's not going to have much success if no one knows his property is for sale.  This is a recipe for a motivated seller. 

That's a tremendous amount of leverage pushing sellers to work with Realtors®.

But the proliferation of technology is changing the landscape.  Flat fee MLS services will be a factor as well.  That "be seen" leverage point will gradually start to erode, just as the number of licensed real estate agents is exploding - everyone out there competing for the same business. 

Investors will always need agents, though - but those who rely their Realtor® association's dominance of the MLS system won't be operating from a position of strength.  Investors need agents who understand their issues.  I notice that the Investor group is a pretty lonely corner of ActiveRain...I think that's a missed opportunity.