Drastic paradigm shifts in how the residential real estate market works have been on the way for several years now. The change has really become apparent over the last year. It is easier for people to sell their homes themselves as FSBOs (for sale by owner) as a result. Lets look at how things used to work and how they work now in regard to the traditional method of using a real estate brokerage firm, and I think youll see why.
Real Estate Sales The Old Way
Not so long ago, most people who wanted to buy a home would go to a real estate brokers office. They would meet with an agent and tell him or her what sort of home they were looking for. The agent would advise the buyer to get a lender letter (if they didnt already have one) and give them a short list of lenders. The agent would then do a computer search of the Realtor multiple listing services for them.
After the agent found properties which met the buyers criteria, the agent and buyer would develop a list of properties the buyer wanted to see. The agent would print these out and make arrangements for the buyer to see them. Theyd get into the agents car and go from house to house until the buyer found...