There are cracks beginning to show in the way real estate is sold. For a long time, the only realistic option for selling a home was to employ a full service realtor, who sells a whole package of services bundled together, and charges five or six percent of the selling price of the house.
But as the internet has eroded the Multiple Listing Service monopoly on home listings, it is beginning to be possible for sellers to put their own homes on the market, with the assistance of a la carte services from realtors.
One such service in the Boston area, http://eplacehomes.com/ offers just such an a la carte "menu of services". It will be interesting to see where this leads, in a market whose standard, full service contract, with a 6% realtor's commission, became strained as house prices rose into seven figures in many communities. (See this earlier post on broker rebates to buyers.)
Hi. Thanks for your post, it was quite informative for me as I also work as a real estate agent. I understant that many people don't really like realtors as they think that we earn our money easily showing them a house which is not actually ours. But even realtor's job is hard work which requires a certain knowlegde and dedication.
ReplyDeleteAll the best,
Elli