{"id":2258,"date":"2007-11-24T06:57:02","date_gmt":"2007-11-24T13:57:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/?p=2258"},"modified":"2009-03-09T12:32:01","modified_gmt":"2009-03-09T19:32:01","slug":"real-estate-representation-has-never-been-about-information-brokerage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/2258\/real-estate-representation-has-never-been-about-information-brokerage\/","title":{"rendered":"Real estate representation has never been about information brokerage"},"content":{"rendered":"

I’m behind on these, but this is a good time to catch up. This is my column from the Arizona Republic<\/i> from last week.<\/p>\n

 
Real estate representation has never been about information brokerage<\/b><\/p>\n

As I write this, the National Association of Realtors is holding its annual convention at the Venetian Hotel and Conference Center in Las Vegas. This year marks the 100th anniversary of the founding of the trade group, a cause for celebration.<\/p>\n

But the NAR is also embroiled in a years-long anti-trust suit brought by the United States Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission. Real estate buyers and sellers are steadily migrating to the world-wide web as their primary communications medium, even as the housing market is suffering through an extended downturn in many parts of the country.<\/p>\n

Of the challenges facing the NAR, perhaps the greatest is finding a path to relevance in the internet age. The group’s own statistics demonstrate that a steadily increasing percentage of home buyers and sellers are conducting their search for real estate information and representation on the web.<\/p>\n

This internet-focused client base can be significantly more tech-savvy than many Realtors, with agents constantly racing to catch up. At the same time, Realtors’ presumed traditional value proposition, access to MLS listings, has been obviated by on-line MLS systems and nascent Realty.bots — venture-capital-funded internet start-ups devoted to delivering real estate information.<\/p>\n

In fact, truly valuable real estate representation has never been about information brokerage — a fact both the Realtors and the Realty.bots seem to be slowly discovering.<\/p>\n

The value a Realtor brings to a home seller is not the MLS listing, which is at best an administrative function. A skilled listing agent should advise sellers on pricing, preparation and presentation — the factors that get skillfully-marketed homes sold when no other houses are selling.<\/p>\n

The best advice a buyer’s agent can provide to his or her clients comes not in a stack of MLS listings but in specific tactics to deploy during negotiations, inspections and throughout the escrow process.<\/p>\n

Whether the NAR can sustain relevance into the twenty-first century remains to be seen. But, even though consumers may find Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I’m behind on these, but this is a good time to catch up. This is my column from the Arizona Republic from last week.  Real estate representation has never been about information brokerage As I write this, the National Association of Realtors is holding its annual convention at the Venetian Hotel and Conference Center in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_crdt_document":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,6,5,30,19],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-2258","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"hentry","6":"category-disintermediation","7":"category-marketing","8":"category-real-estate","9":"category-supplanting-the-nar","10":"category-technology","12":"no-featured-image"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":14584,"url":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/14584\/how-does-the-national-association-of-realtors-love-me-they-sent-me-an-evaluation-so-i-could-count-the-ways\/","url_meta":{"origin":2258,"position":0},"title":"How does the National Association of Realtors love me? They sent me an evaluation so I could count the ways.","author":"Greg Swann","date":"May 10, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"I appeared by videoconference at the National Association of Realtors Association Executives convention in March. At the time, I made note of my remarks in a comment to Teri Lussier's first post on the NAR's latest anti-consumer money-grab:I spoke by videoconference to the NAR Association Executives conclave on Monday. I\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Disintermediation"","block_context":{"text":"Disintermediation","link":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/category\/disintermediation\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1924,"url":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/1924\/supplanting-the-nar-can-we-get-to-a-better-quality-of-real-estate-representation-by-way-of-the-licensing-laws\/","url_meta":{"origin":2258,"position":1},"title":"Supplanting the NAR: Can we get to a better quality of real estate representation by way of the licensing laws?","author":"Greg Swann","date":"September 13, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Coming back to this, with my apologies for the delay. I realized I was never going to have time for the whole feast at one sitting, so I resolved to take it on one bite at a time. I want to examine some of the ideas and objections people have\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Marketing"","block_context":{"text":"Marketing","link":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/category\/marketing\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":8539,"url":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/8539\/what-would-it-take-to-reform-the-national-association-of-realtors-to-turn-it-from-an-anti-consumer-cartel-into-a-steadfast-defender-of-the-right-of-american-citizens-to-own-use-and-enjoy-real-proper\/","url_meta":{"origin":2258,"position":2},"title":"What would it take to reform the National Association of Realtors, to turn it from an anti-consumer cartel into a steadfast defender of the right of American citizens to own, use and enjoy real property?","author":"Greg Swann","date":"May 21, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Joe Loomer: > what could and should NAR do to dispell your views of it as a criminal enterprise? In very broad outlines: 1. Stop writing and lobbying for legislation devised to churn the real estate markets. 2. Work tirelessly to eliminate all laws that serve to advance the interests\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Disintermediation"","block_context":{"text":"Disintermediation","link":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/category\/disintermediation\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2179,"url":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/2179\/a-consumers-guide-to-the-divorced-real-estate-commission-why-buyers-and-sellers-each-paying-for-their-own-representation-is-the-most-significant-reform-that-can-be-made-today-in-residential-real-estat\/","url_meta":{"origin":2258,"position":3},"title":"A consumer’s guide to the divorced real estate commission: Why buyers and sellers each paying for their own representation is the most significant reform that can be made today in residential real estate","author":"Greg Swann","date":"November 7, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Part I: How we got into this mess in the first place Can we be straight with each other? I'm not a soft and subtle kind of guy, and my working assumption is that you are sick to death of being hustled -- handled -- lied to. We yammer all\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Marketing"","block_context":{"text":"Marketing","link":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/category\/marketing\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2102,"url":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/2102\/bruce-hahn-writes-another-letter-to-inman-news\/","url_meta":{"origin":2258,"position":4},"title":"Bruce Hahn Writes Another Letter To Inman News","author":"Russell Shaw","date":"October 24, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Bruce Hahn writes another letter to Inman News. Of course it gets published, Bruce's letters always get published on Inman News. I've posted about Bruce before, in this post and in this one. It is a big secret who pays Bruce. He likes to advance the idea that it doesn't\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Disintermediation"","block_context":{"text":"Disintermediation","link":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/category\/disintermediation\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Bruce Hahn","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/10\/Bruce%20Hahn.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2208,"url":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/2208\/a-consumers-guide-to-the-divorced-real-estate-commission-undermining-the-arguments-in-support-of-the-status-quo\/","url_meta":{"origin":2258,"position":5},"title":"A consumer’s guide to the divorced real estate commission: Undermining the arguments in support of the status quo","author":"Greg Swann","date":"November 11, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Part V: Why arguments for the current method of compensating real estate agents and against divorcing the real estate commissions must fail As I write this, the National Association of Realtors is preparing for its annual convention, to be held this year in America's playground, Las Vegas, Nevada. 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