How do you answer this question? The following is excerpted from our forthcoming eBook, aimed at helping new agents (and refreshing veterans!):
Are you a new real estate agent? Right after your friends and family congratulate you on your career move, they’ll probably ask you this question.
“No offense, or anything,” they’ll say. “It’s just… we don’t have travel agents, so why do we still have real estate agents? Aren’t you the middle man? Isn’t the Internet going to make you a relic, chop up your will to live, and mix it in with a fancy cat food?”
Ah, family. They have the funniest ways of telling you they love you.
But seriously: How do you answer it?
You don’t have to, because someone else has. Oh, no one special, but maybe you’ve heard of them? Who? The Washington Post you say?
In Lydia DePillis’ August 22, 2013 article “Why do real estate agents still exist?” she takes a look at some core reasons why all of the darlings of the dot com world still haven’t put the trusty real estate agent out to pasture.
Here are some of the highlights (quoted from the article):
1. The post-crash world is more complex: The housing crash and ensuing tighter lending standards, as well as the prevalence of foreclosures and short sales, have made the average transaction harder to navigate without expert help.
2. The internet improves productivity: When buyers can find out the homes they want through online research, an agent has to spend less time touring them around. Then, they can just come in and help with closing, and pick up the same commission.
3. The internet increases agent leverage over brokers: … “Agents are in a position where they can keep more of their money, because they’re not reliant on the brokerage to get their business.”
4. People still don’t trust cheap things: Buying a home is a big decision, and people don’t tend to want to take a risk on a cut-rate agent.
Plenty of people are still betting on the imminent annihilation of the real estate agent’s career. They’ve been doing so for a long, long time. Smile, pass the mashed potatoes, and then sit back and wait for the sweet, sweet day when they ask you to help them buy or sell a home.
(The full eBook will be released this month and made available free for Tuesday Tactics subscribers.)
