Anybody see tonight's 60 Minutes piece on Realtors?

[wiegie]

I'll link to it once it becomes available online. (Basically it talks about how I was right (especially with regard to the Real Estate industry lobbying for regulations in their favor).)

Edited May 13, 2007 by wiegie

[spain]

I saw it. The internet is going to kill their fat 6% commission. Lots of companies charging flat fees now.

[Grits and Shins]

I don't watch trash magazine shows ... just like I don't buy trash magazines like the Enquirer.

[wiegie]

link to story:

 

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/05/11/...in2790865.shtml

[Chavez]

they sold for $10,000 under, which Willis says they're happy with. It was in their range, he says.

 

"But perhaps they've left quite a bit of money on the table if it had been put in the hands of somebody that really knew the business," argues Deborah Arends

 

They probably made up in the refund from Redfin what they lost in gross dollars.

[Dr. Rock]

That "real" realtor at the end? Total biatch.

[Big Country]

Interesting article.

 

Thiugh, the redfin services offer no advantage to a buyer in the eyes of the seller, as they are still paying the 6% commission regardless, so, the arguments from the other thread about it being advantageous to go without a REA for the purpose of being able to offer a lower gross that resulted in a greater net for the seller are out the window.

[whomper]

from the article

 

 

"Oregon is a perfect example of that. We would love to go into Portland, Oregon. But there’s a law against giving people who buy a house part of the commission back," Kelman says.

 

 

 

 

The broker I work for charges 3.9..The days of 6% have been shaky for a while now. If you want to sell your own house through the internet God Bless you. Not every transaction goes a great as TimCs did. Be prepared to show your own home at a moments notice, possibly give up weekends to open house ,and have some good knowledge of what you can say and not say in a RE transaction. Im not sure if the company Foxtons is a nationwide company. I remember about 5 years ago Foxtons was the big threat to the RE industry because they offered to list your home at 1 %. They basically threw yourt home on their website and you did all the work. I saw a sign for Foxtons this weekend..The sign said 2.5% they will list your home. Its funny how their rate almost tripled and you are still selling your own home.

Edited May 14, 2007 by whomper

[bushwacked]

Not every transaction goes a great as TimCs did.

 

 

 

After selling our house by owner last year, I will never hire an agent to sell my house unless absolutely necessary. Our corporate lawyer at work has done hundrerds of FSBO transactions at work and charged us $500 (employee discount) to generate the contract, our house was on the market for about a month. Our work was limited to making flyers, buying a for sale sign, and putting an ad in the paper, and letting people look at our house.

 

I went to redfin.com to see if they sell houses up here in the Bellingham area as we are looking to buy. Looks like their server crashed, due to the traffic generated from 60 minutes.

[muck]

Interesting read.

 

Eventually, someway, somehow, the RE commission structure will change markedly.

 

Any doubts about this? Ask someone who was a stockbroker 30yrs ago about how their industry changed from 1975 to 2005... They were charging huge commissions for buying/selling (which (along with the hugh marginal tax rates) forced nearly all investors to hold to a buy-and-hold investment approach). Today, most financial pro's charge a management fee as a fixed portion of their clients assets. Me? Most of my clients pay no management fee (or pay a very small one) but do pay a portion of the profits ... so, if they don't make money then I don't get to feed my family.

 

The investing world is a very different place today than it was 30yrs ago.

 

The real estate world will change, too.