Very interesting thoughts. However, why should things change when you can get a full service Re/Max agent here to list a home for 1%, plus whatever the going co-op is?
As long as this business is reward driven, no sale no pay, it will be commission driven for the majority of the consumers.
Different business models will only take over traditional ones, if the consumer wants it and wants to pay for it.

Dave ~

I was so pleased to see your name and post. Welcome back and please accept the warmest of hugs from all who are part of this board.

Do you feel that this is the wave of the future? Do you think that the "help you sell" type businesses have lead to this path? Is there a point in becoming a realtor or are there just so many out there that it is hard to find a really productive one? I ask because my mom was in real estate (a realtor and broker) about 30 years and was quite successful. She past away just before last Christmas but there is a room full of literature and books relating to the market.

Robyn

Dave- I've already posted on another thread that the RE industry is due for an overhaul. Some agents on this board see me as mean-spirited.
I'm speaking the truth of what I see & know. They don't want to hear it.

Even large RE firms are hurting. The RE business has grown too large, with transactions costing way too much. Large commissions are becoming a thing of the past. Most commissions are eaten up by the operating costs of the brokers & the RE FEES. The buyers/sellers don't need to keep this giant alive.

Selling a house FSBO is easy, if you have the time. Selling with a broker is very complicated & expensive, because they want to confuse the public & tell them how much they are needed...blah...blah. The amount of RE paperwork & overhead created in the past twenty years is unbelievable. All this created a parasitic giant.

People are hurting & barely paying their mortgages. Paying 6% commission, when you don't have any equity in the house is robbery. You could sell the house yourself IF agents/brokers wouldn't boycott your sale.

Computers are takng care of any "mystery" in the RE market. It will be interesting to see what this Recession will do to the RE business. I know that one of the largest firms (in my area)Coldwell Banker is having some pains & restructuring. This is after a ton of agents came to join CB from their sinking firms! Don't tell me that the RE industry is not in trouble ;)

I didn't read the article, but I agree that the current RE model doesn't work well - for RE agents themselves!
I have had a RE license since 2001, but have only worked as a RE assistant in that time. What I have seen is that RE agents spend a disproportionate amount of their time and money prospecting for clients. I have seen very good professional agents suffering, not just in the current market, but also during the boom times. The fault lies in the fact that it is way too easy to obtain a RE license, and that most RE brokerage companies are simply playing a numbers game. They hire as many agents as they can, hoping that the agent has a large enough "sphere" to bring in clients.
I started working in 2001 for an agent with over 10 years of experience who had taken many advanced educational classes and was a member of the professional standards board of our MLS. He had a good clientele, and almost 100% of his business came from past client referrals and from a couple of builders that he worked very hard for. Then came the RE boom, and everyone in town either became a Realtor or contractor. Suddenly, even loyal clients now had a friend or relative that was "in the business" who they wanted to give their business too. As the experienced broker's assistant I can tell you that it wasn't much fun to work with these inexperienced agents.
But back to my point. I think that consumers still need the option of full service agents, but there are just way too many of them to be sustainable. I feel that higher educational standards would cut down the number of agents AND give the industry more professionalism. If there weren't so many agents for so few clients then the agents wouldn't have to spend so much time and money advertising and could send their time doing something profitable - working with clients. If more time is spent making money than spending it, then the agents could actually charge a smaller commission or simply a fee for service and still make more money.

I'm a realtor who is having a real problem with the RE industry. I believe 6-7% commission is too much for the seller to pay. However, there are too many hands in the pot! We don't need NAR, brokers, agents and other. One tier system would work just fine. Broker/agent could be one person, charging a consulting fee. Other offices could operate the way they do for those who want them.
I found this website today:

www.savvybroker.com

I hate to tell you all, but I agree with 99% of what she's saying.
Although I dabbled in RE for years, I got my license this year. I am triple-degreed in other areas, but decided to do RE because of the flexibilty. I'm in for a big surprise. I get to work until 10pm. I work with many disrespecful clients. One asked me if this is ALL that I do. WTF?
I didn't bother telling them that I had a tremendous career before doing RE. I had my own business. I guess people think that all realtors are stupid, and only open up doors. They don't realize the hoops and the paperwork involved with a sale of a home. Yes, the paperwork seems to be created to cover the stupid mistakes that realtors make (many are not too bright, but are excellent sales people!).

Buyers call the office about a property and act real cagey, as though I will jump them. I'm there to answer their questions, not to play games. I hate sales. I believe in being informative and let the buyer decide. I think that RE consulting would better suit me. I cannot swin with the greedy, lying sharks.

The RE dues are way too much in comparison to what I'm able to make this year. I don't like the cat and mouse game that I see realtors playing with the buyers and the sellers. It seems to be a dishonest business. Greed and money is the root of all evil.

Personally, I think that there is room for improvement. The NAR is very powerful. They will not allow any changes that will hurt their pocketbook.
It is true that the sellers and buyers are paying for everything.

There are too many agents. This makes the business cutthroat.
I'm becoming dissillusioned. I still would like to help people. I don't know how to change the RE field, but I hate it as it exists.

"I found this website today:
www.savvybroker.com"

It's just another way of making money without having to work Real Estate for a living.
Agents are getting desperate to survive.

We asked an agent over when we were considering listing our house. I was looking for a "if I were to list your house today, I'd list it for.....". After sitting at my kitchen table for two hours (yes, I couldn't get her to leave) I never got a number. She showed us pages of comparables (houses sold and what's currently for sale). Frankly, I could have gotten all that on my own. I never heard what her marketing plan was or how she was different than anyone else.

Not impressed and not worth 6% of my sale!