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Nearing the End For Realtors and Mortgage Professionals

By
Mortgage and Lending with iWantDocs.Com, LLC

Nearing the End For Realtors & Mortgage Professionals.



Web real estate firms shake up home economics - Los Angeles Times

Well....so much for having my own niche, huh? If I told you that the housing industry has only begun to "dabble" into generating sales via the internet, you'd probably think I was joking. The internet has indeed become a powerful tool for both realtors and mortgage lenders, but to what extent does it generate new business? I guess another way to ask that is:



"Can a website do the same job as a realtor or a mortgage professional?"


The answer is....ABSOLUTELY! It's already in the works. At this point, it's still used mostly to suppliment the work of realtors and loan officers. However, emerging websites like Realtor.com are providing buyers and sellers with much of the same information as their real estate agents. Zillow.com is another popular website which is used for determining real estate values all over the country. Like many other industries, real estate & mortgages transactions will soon be generated, processed, and finalized over the internet.





1.) Realtors will be the first to be eliminated.


Real estate sales are heavily influenced by outside forces. Economic
conditions, interest rates, housing prices, and income averages
are variables that directly effect the real estate
market. Realtors are often at the mercy of changing market
conditions, regardless of their ability to sell. If houses are too
expensive, people won't buy them......period. Obviously, I'm speaking in
generalities and there are always exceptions to the rule. The other major cause for their extinction is their price. For how much a realtor charges, it's far too easy to figure out a way to eliminate the need for one.

2.) Loan Officers..........YOUR NEXT!


Like realtors, loan officers experience fluctuations in their business due to a changing economy. Loan Officers, however, rely more heavily on their ability to sell than do realtors. At the risk of upsetting any
realtors who are reading this, it's the truth. Also, no matter how bad market conditions may be, people will always need money. Without doing any research, I'm going to guess that real estate transactions
(sales/purchases) fluctuate far greater over time than mortgages.
Just a hunch. You're more than welcome to do the research and prove me wrong. I'll even post it on this site for you.

Tony and Suzanne Marriott, Associate Brokers
Serving the Greater Phoenix and Scottsdale Metropolitan Area - Scottsdale, AZ
Coldwell Banker Realty

Jon - I hate to be the one to tell you - but it looks like your website has been eliminated.  Clicking on the link in your profile takes you on a journey to www.phosphorart.com  !!

Feb 10, 2007 09:40 AM
E.T. Home Loan
iWantDocs.Com, LLC - Claremont, CA

That's exactly it.  Realtors are limited to a local area.  Mortgage brokers, at least in my area, haven't aggressivley marketed towards the local online client base.  It's a big pool with a whole lot of fish in it.

"Long-Tail"

Feb 10, 2007 09:42 AM
E.T. Home Loan
iWantDocs.Com, LLC - Claremont, CA
Thanks for pointing that out to me Tony.  I'll get it figured out.
Feb 10, 2007 10:01 AM
Ryan Hukill - Edmond
405home @ ERA Courtyard - Edmond, OK
Realtor, Team Lead
OK, so I have to ask, at what point did we start featuring sci-fi posts?  :)
Feb 10, 2007 10:15 AM
Diane Bell, Hilton Head Real Estate, Bluffton
Charter 1 Real Estate, Hilton Head, Bluffton, SC - Hilton Head Island, SC

Jon,

I found your post interesting and perhaps thought provoking but don't agree with your premise. 

Feb 10, 2007 11:34 AM
E.T. Home Loan
iWantDocs.Com, LLC - Claremont, CA

It looks like the storm's dying down a little bit.  To those of you who participated in this debate with challanging and well-formulated arguments, I thank you.  For those of you who responded with your emotions rather than logic...well, I'm sorry for bringing up such a touchy subject.  I'll have to include some sort of disclaimer on my next article so we can avoid any further misunderstandings. 

For future reference, some of you may want to think of better arguments than "what a waste of a gold star," and, "you don't know anything."  I never said that I was right, or whether I even agree with this position.  Maybe I thought that this was just a good way to get everybody to talk about it. 

Anyways, I concede this round to Jay Merton, Dan & Sandra Cummings, and Rick Beal, who also contributed some good evidence to support his case. 

Well Done! Until next time...

 

 

 

 

Feb 10, 2007 11:41 AM
Tim Maitski
Atlanta Communities Real Estate Brokerage - Atlanta, GA
Truth, Excellence and a Good Deal
Jon, Have you ever bought or sold a house?  Have you ever used a real estate agent? I just don't know if you are joking with this post or if you are really serious?
Feb 10, 2007 02:16 PM
Kaushik Sirkar
Call Realty, Inc. - Chandler, AZ
Not really sure why this became a featured post.....
Feb 10, 2007 02:37 PM
Darren C. Douglas
Oxford Residential Advisors - Tucson, AZ
I don't agree totally.  A shake-out is on the way.  Any REALTOR who thinks that s/he will be unaffected by the increased availability of real estate services on the Internet is delusional.  Just like stock brokers in the late 90s who said that etrade.com and other web stock brokerages would soon be extinct.  However, just as the best stock brokers survived the rough years in the market since 2001, so will the BEST REALTORS survive the evolution of our business.
Feb 10, 2007 04:01 PM
Gerken & Associates Realtors Brokerage
Gerken & Associates Realtors - Branson, MO
I'd agree with Laurie. There are way too many Realtor sites emerging.
Feb 10, 2007 05:31 PM
Martin Rodriguez
Pacific Funding - Valencia, CA
Senior Loan Consultant

As TLW has commented many times before.  Your computer can never take the place of a good advisor.

Sure, computers and fancy websites will forever be an intrical part of the process and I'm sure there is some percentage of buyers that may prefer to work in the virtual world, but for most people buying a home is a touch n feel transaction.  They want hand holding and reassurance that their doing the right thing. 

However, I would be remiss if I didn't point out that the travel agency business was once a thriving business in the pre WWW days.  Then came Orbitz, Priceline, and the Travelocity's of the world; and this industry has all but ceased to exist.  

The real estate community needs to embrace computers and the web for the value they add and recognize that the true value resides in the knowledge and understanding of the truly qualified realtor or loan officer.

 

Feb 10, 2007 06:08 PM
E.T. Home Loan
iWantDocs.Com, LLC - Claremont, CA

I love the travel agent example.  One word stands out in Martin's comments, and that's "advisor."  It's possible to plug a scenario into a computer, but it lacks the element of life experience.  I think that by interacting with our clients, we automatically create a profile based on their personalities and characteristics.  I would never put someone in an Option Arm if I didn't think they were responsible enough to handle it.  It doesn't matter how good their credit is.  Obviously, this would get looked over if everything was automated.

Feb 10, 2007 06:57 PM
Boomer Jack Boardman & Carl McIntyre, the Codgers
Noted Curmudgeons - Saint Paul, MN

Jon:

I simply had to come back for a visit, just to see the comments you received.

In my first comment I wrote: “If your intent was to make a splash with a provocative topic—you may have succeeded!” I expected you would receive some very negative comments from some of our members (and unfortunately I was not wrong in that expectation), others would politely disagree and add to the debate, some applied humor to the debate and some thought it thought-provking.

I was pleased to read your replies to the comments—with good grace and humor: “Touché.”

That your post was featured is no surprise to me—it deserved to be featured!

Some members disagreed with your original premise and could not imagine why a post they disagreed with should be featured. This makes no sense what-so-ever to me. How boring the ‘Rain would be if we all agreed with one-another!

Jay Merton
Feb 10, 2007 10:31 PM
Greg Cremia
Shore Realty of the Outer Banks - Nags Head, NC
If I go down I'm taking the car sales people with me.
Feb 11, 2007 01:33 AM
"The Lovely Wife" The One And Only TLW.
President-Tutas Towne Realty, Inc. - Kissimmee, FL

................"If I go down I'm taking the car sales people with me."..............

Now there's a laugh on line :)

TLW...ROAR!

Feb 11, 2007 01:50 AM
Home Design
Alpharetta, GA
Home Design and Real Estate

I remember hearing about this when I was in the car business in the mid 90s.  Everyone predicted that car salesman would be extinct and websites like Autobytel and Autonation would take over and sell cars online.  Well that never happend and never will.  When it comes to items that are of a large amount of money, such as homes and cars, people will never forfit human contact.  Ever try to get a mortgage on E-loan or lending tree?  I wouldnt recommend trying, getting people to call you back is difficult, and you are just a Number to them.  Mortgage brokers and Agents will be around forever.

Feb 11, 2007 02:27 AM
Laurie Manny
Long Beach CA Real Estate - Long Beach, CA

 

"If I go down I'm taking the car sales people with me."

 

I needed a good laugh this morning, great to see you have a really good sense of humor.

Feb 11, 2007 04:27 AM
E.T. Home Loan
iWantDocs.Com, LLC - Claremont, CA
I made a new blog thanking all of you for your participation yesterday.  You might get a kick out of this one too!
Feb 11, 2007 06:10 AM
Carol Spengel
Prudential Rubloff - Wheaton, IL
Wheaton IL
Hey Jon,  I think you are assuming that everyone in the US has a computer, knows how to use it really well and speaks English.   What about  the people on the margins? Sherry
Feb 11, 2007 07:10 AM
Anonymous
Bill E Klub

I love it.  "Your Next".

 

Like the Onion News T-Shirt    "Your Dumb"

 


Well, you might be.

Jul 16, 2010 09:54 AM
#42