What about Redfin?
Like many today, I watched the CBS 60 minutes segment about Redfin versus the traditional Realtor.
Many thoughts came to mind while watching, I'll share some of them with you tonight.
A short summary of the Redfin concept is that the technologically sophisticated buyer can find a home, make an offer, complete all of the necessary paperwork etc. on the internet. True to a point.
I represent a large proportion of buyers in my real estate work. People who are going to make what is probably the largest purchase of their lives. People who are going to stake the welfare and wealth of their family on the outcome. Do you think the agent in an office in Washington is a neighborhood expert? Probably not.
If you are a buyer, how important is a neighborhood expert to you? In my area, homes for sale in Sun City, Sun City West, and the west valley of Maricopa county, you could ask many people now living on a major road with heavy truck traffic. You could ask my clients who loved a home until I pointed out the gravel pit a block away that operates 23 hours a day. You could ask my clients who didn't buy the home 1 block from the sanitary landfill. Can the on-line discount broker do that? How about the home with the awful pet smell? Will the on-line broker caution about the unusual, perhaps unsafe remodel job? How about future saleabilty of the home? Who will counsel the buyer about loan programs that are totally unsuitable?
Do you think the seller's agent, who has an employment contract with the seller is the best person to show the home? That's right folks, the seller,s agent works for the seller. It is called a fiduciary relationship and has a higher responsibilty than the seller's agent relationship to the buyer.
Another point to consider is that the Redfin success is based upon the now defunct "buyers" market. It remains to be seen how successful it will be in a "normal" market, or in the "sellers" market we are now experiencing. I remember the "dot.com" craze. I also remember the "dot.com" crash. It wasn't that long ago folks.
Another thought I had while watching the show was, is this news, or is this a commercial? I think it was a commercial, the most blatant I have seen. Does CBS get paid for this?
If this fluff piece with little merit is news, I give it about as much credence as Parade Magazine in the Sunday paper. Shows such as 60 Minutes and 20/20 are the heirs of William Randolph Hearst and the "yellow journalists" of the late 19th and early 20th centuries and deserve the same disdain.
There will always be a spot for alternative brokerage models, and some will bring positive change to the industry, but most buyers and sellers of homes need and will continue to need the services of real estate professionals.
Many thoughts came to mind while watching, I'll share some of them with you tonight.
A short summary of the Redfin concept is that the technologically sophisticated buyer can find a home, make an offer, complete all of the necessary paperwork etc. on the internet. True to a point.
I represent a large proportion of buyers in my real estate work. People who are going to make what is probably the largest purchase of their lives. People who are going to stake the welfare and wealth of their family on the outcome. Do you think the agent in an office in Washington is a neighborhood expert? Probably not.
If you are a buyer, how important is a neighborhood expert to you? In my area, homes for sale in Sun City, Sun City West, and the west valley of Maricopa county, you could ask many people now living on a major road with heavy truck traffic. You could ask my clients who loved a home until I pointed out the gravel pit a block away that operates 23 hours a day. You could ask my clients who didn't buy the home 1 block from the sanitary landfill. Can the on-line discount broker do that? How about the home with the awful pet smell? Will the on-line broker caution about the unusual, perhaps unsafe remodel job? How about future saleabilty of the home? Who will counsel the buyer about loan programs that are totally unsuitable?
Do you think the seller's agent, who has an employment contract with the seller is the best person to show the home? That's right folks, the seller,s agent works for the seller. It is called a fiduciary relationship and has a higher responsibilty than the seller's agent relationship to the buyer.
Another point to consider is that the Redfin success is based upon the now defunct "buyers" market. It remains to be seen how successful it will be in a "normal" market, or in the "sellers" market we are now experiencing. I remember the "dot.com" craze. I also remember the "dot.com" crash. It wasn't that long ago folks.
Another thought I had while watching the show was, is this news, or is this a commercial? I think it was a commercial, the most blatant I have seen. Does CBS get paid for this?
If this fluff piece with little merit is news, I give it about as much credence as Parade Magazine in the Sunday paper. Shows such as 60 Minutes and 20/20 are the heirs of William Randolph Hearst and the "yellow journalists" of the late 19th and early 20th centuries and deserve the same disdain.
There will always be a spot for alternative brokerage models, and some will bring positive change to the industry, but most buyers and sellers of homes need and will continue to need the services of real estate professionals.
Labels: buying homes, real estate sales, redfin
posted by jim the jotter at 6:59 PM
2 Comments:
Well said. The best thing this can do for Realtors is to weed out the ones who give us a bad name and make exceptional agents better and more competitive. It's a win-win for the consumer, even though I never see the extinction of a traditional agent.
Thank you Amy, the best thing the consumer can do is check the websites and terms of the discount brokers and see what they do for how much money
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