The Launch of the National Buyer Listing Service. (NationalBLS.com)
Why a Buyer Listing Service?
Looking back over the last four years we have seen two significant drops in the real estate market: housing prices and home sales volume. We don't think we can do much for housing prices; the market sets the price and there a numerous external factors which drive supply and demand. Home sales volume however is a different matter.
Existing home sales in the US have dropped from 6.47m in 2006 to 4.72m in 2008 (source: NAR) and 2009 looks likely to be lower still. With an approximate 26% drop in housing prices some would argue sales should be booming as prices are cheaper than ever. Many home sellers are unfortunately being forced to sell but home buyers simply don't seem to be engaging.
Here at NationalBLS we believe that one of the reasons for this is simply that since the mass adoption of the internet, housing prices have been rising and as such the majority of online tools have been built around the sell side of the market. The sell side has been where the scarcity resided and only in the past few years has that shifted from not enough homes for sale to not enough pre-approved buyers.
So we are providing a platform for reversing the real estate model to fit today's market. By listing pre-approved buyers we focus on today's scarcity. By building a platform for reverse offers we allow home sellers to get proactive and approach pre-approved buyers in private. It is a really simple concept to recreate the MLS (Multiple Listing Service) on the buy side of the market and call it the BLS (Buyer Listing Service). We are not looking to replace the current model or believe we have a solution for everyone. We feel we can complement the current structure and offer another option for those who wish to try it.
Real estate agents have always been happy to share listing information on the MLS and for good reason: doing so has driven sales volume for everyone's benefit. However the listing is only half the picture and only represents half the market. Every home sale has a buyer involved and there is a need for the buyer to be represented.
Our focus is to drive liquidity in the residential real estate market. We are not agents or brokers, we are not mysterious or secretive, we are here because we are willing to dedicate time and effort to making a positive difference in a tough market. We support the use of agents and are currently talking to groups of agents to ensure their concerns are heard and ideas implemented in what we believe can be a significant step forward.
We welcome feedback and are open to your comments.
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