Did Honolulu Real Estate Get Hit By “Disintermediation”?
October 23rd, 2009 categories: Rants & Riffs
Brian Boero, of The 1000 Watt Blog, visited a Realtor fear that was running rampant as the Internet began to gain momentum in the mid-1990’s. I can remember Realtor concerns that the Web was going to make us irrelevant. Essentially, the thought was that if all of the Honolulu home and condo listings were available online, then why would a consumer need a real estate agent? I can’t tell when it happened, but it seems this fear has dissipated and we Realtors are now able to be much more efficient at selling properties.
“In fact, according the California Association of Realtors 2009 Buyer Survey, 90% of all buyers became aware of the property they eventually bought through their agent.That tells me the 15-year war over listings data is even more pointless than I thought. Turns out consumers still need a Realtor to find a home even if they search online, on their own, for months.”
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Here are four of the positive benefits brought to real estate transactions by this new-fangled technological world.
1. A more informed consumer. In the old days, a buyer or seller had to go through their Realtor to get any information on the market. Now the client can do a great deal of research before they contact their agent. This allows them to get comfortable with the market and how they fit into it. Once I am contacted, I find that most of my clients are much closer to making a move than they were before the advent of the Internet.
2. Better teamwork between an agent and client. Clients can now gain much of the basic information concerning a property’s details through a computer and based on this initial research homes can be eliminated or added to their wish list. Once a client narrows the homes to a more manageable list, I can then review them and help to cull any properties that are outside our search box (based on my experience and long-term market knowledge). This teamwork helps to eliminate the frustration of having to view all of the properties in person and saves both the client and agent great amounts of time.
3. Arm chair quarterbacking. Since most smart Realtors are now loading extensive photos and/or videos (some homes are better suited for photo and not video and vice versa) a potential buyer can now see numerous homes from the comfort of their existing home. Allowing a buyer to build a context of the market in less time and physical effort. The more a buyer or seller knows about the market, the better their overall decisions will be.
4. Better communication. Most of my clients use email to a greater or lesser extent. Certainly email has allowed a much quicker communication methodology, however, it has forced me to become a better writer. Not only does the written word give me a much-needed paper trail for my file, but it also requires me organize, analyze and deliver my thoughts in a clear cogent manner. The bottom line is there is much better communication between client and Realtor. The better everyone communicates, the happier the consumer becomes and the possibility of future problems is lessened.
In Summary, I believe that the Net has had mostly positive outcomes for everyone involved in real estate. Proof positive that we can’t control information, we need to adapt and make new technologies work to everyone’s advantage.
If you would like to discuss your real estate needs, feel free to call me at 808-737-2093 or toll free at 877-737-2093. You can email me at keahi@lava.net.
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