Software Disintermediating Brokers?! Not so fast…
[{"id": "dloq7dt", "text": "I can see much of what a residential agent does going the way of technogy and squeezing fees per transaction, but will also allow for many more transactions to a zero sum. I don't see commercial brokers (especially sales) being disintermediated by technology any more than Legal Zoom put attorneys out of business. ", "replies": [{"id": "dlozp0s", "text": "I agree. I've seen the residential side as archaic for a while now. In states like Texas you can sell your own home without a license, and the state test is essentially a test over TX real estate law. Any questions about legal stuff have to go to an attorney anyway. The market here is flooded with attorneys, so why not just use one of those from the start? Commercial is a different beast, and too complex for the average business to navigate on their own. ", "replies": [{"id": "dlqfo8a", "text": "I agree to certain extent, but most people really need a realtor and don't know it. I deal exclusively in commercial investments, but when I talk to friends and family about residential they are so far off base it's sadly funny. Buying or selling a 6 figure item using internet information is just like diagnosing yourself using WebMD if it were legal to prescribe yourself drugs. It's a bad idea, but you can do it. Commercial on the other hand can be done but it's unlikely an owner has enough sense to obtain a multi million dollar commercial asset then not have enough sense to use a profession to handle disposition unless they're a practicing broker themselves, and even then having a barrier in the form of a third party broker is usually worth it. ", "replies": [], "depth": 3}], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}]