Straight Talk About Internet Real Estate Sites

Years ago, real estate was a closed industry. By that, we mean that the public had no way to easily access the current inventory of available homes without the services of a real estate professional. Indeed, inventory was a closely-held secret with agents having the 'book'... literally a phone-book sized publication that they guarded with their lives. After all, the old axiom is that 'knowledge is power'. In those days, buyers based their purchase decision based upon what they were shown, not what was available. In the late 1990s, the real estate industry transitioned to an internet-based model and, Eureka, consumers now had access to all the available inventory. Big improvement, right? Maybe not.

While legitimate brokers and agents now display their inventories on the internet and each other’s sites, the past few years have given rise to a type of provider known as an 'aggregator'. An aggregator, simply stated, is an entity that's not directly involved in the sale of real estate but collects a fee for being nothing more than a matchmaker. They also allegedly provide “value added” services such as access to information about sold

properties, etc. Suppose you were in the market for a new television. If so, several choices are available. You could investigate the products of Sears, Best Buy, Target, etc, or you could use an aggregator website who will collect a fee for putting you in touch with... Sears, Best Buy, Target, etc. Presto!!! You've just introduced an unnecessary middleman into the transaction.

The real estate aggregators are especially slick, in that they collect their fee from the broker, not the public. But the principle remains the same... a middleman is involved who is neither the buyer, nor the seller, nor adds any value to the transaction. Recently, we had a customer who landed on a web site we'll call "Trillow". He contacted us wanting information about a particular home he saw on Trillow because Trillow didn't display full information (street address, price, etc). After more than an hour of research, we were able to determine that the home sold more than a year ago and for about $100,000 more than the 'range' suggested by Trillow. In this case, Trillow was not forthcoming about information and, in fact, was advertising a property that was not for sale at all. Their hope was simply to gain customer contact information and then sell it to one of their partner-agents.

Other sites promise a commission rebate at the time of closing. This is done by selling customer contact information to agents (usually rookies) who agree to rebate part of their commission to the buyer at closing. The problem here is obvious. If you had brain cancer would you look for a surgeon with little experience who offered a reduced fee, or would you want the most experienced surgeon you could get? A current company we'll call "Bluefin" does exactly this - sells your information to an agent who gives you a modest rebate and pays a fee to Bluefin.

In summary, lots of real estate information is available online. Some of it is legitimate and some is a scam. Legitimate real estate agents/brokers can be tremendously helpful while unnecessary middlemen provide little value whatsoever. Simply ask yourself, 'do I really need someone to direct me to Sears, Best Buy or Target? Or am I perfectly capable of finding them myself'?

Our advice, get a good agent, they’ll provide necessary and accurate information for your transaction.