Does The Internet Make The Big Brokerages Obsolete?
I found my first home on the back page of the LA Times Real Estate section. It was featured in a Big Brokerage ad. Now most buyers start their home search online. It would be foolish for a listing agent to rely on print media of any kind for exposure.
One advantage of the Big Brokerage was to offer this kind of opportunity for their agents. That featured page would be priced out of reach for your average agent, but the small space within it is quite affordable. This gave an audience to their agents' listings that would have been unattainable without them.
Going along with that was the lack of information online for buyers. When I saw that house, the first thing I did was call the Big Brokerage to arrange a showing. Now, even if if you do happen to see a home in the supermarket magazine, the next step would most likely be to hit the Web to see if it's still available.
Add to this the fact that most people find their agents on their own: referrals, friends, open houses, yard signs..and of course, their online presence and blogging. :)
The Big Brokerage would argue, "we provide support and training." Ok, that might be true, but that's only because the agents want to be guided and perhaps hand held. For this, the average performer gives up a decent amount of their commission. There is no reason why an independent broker can't know as much, or more, than a salesperson in an office. And the commission split from just one transaction could pay for the advertising, support and training that you believe you get.
Just read Active Rain for a week and you can find the latest information in the real estate market and the products and services which support it.
I think that in the next 10 years we will see the Big Brokerages less attractive to seasoned agents. Perhaps they still provide a service for brand new agents who want to learn and be lead through the beginning of their careers, but for the rest of us?
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