OK, I know I may be blasted for this one but right now I truly believe that NAR is the only thing thing standing in the way of progressive change in the industry (of which I am a member).
Why do I say that?
Let me also make this very clear: Zillow is a laughing stock for those who try to use it or the info provided.
If the NAR did not protect us then I see a system where-by you would have (several at first) but then 1-3 major sites taking over for the MLS. As long as there is more than 1 there is not a monoply. Houses would be listed for a fee by the sellers, say $29.95 a month. The seller could also list with as many sites as he/she wants or the site could offer discounts for exclusivity.
Who sets the price? Well of course that would be the seller, but I believe the appraiser would be hired by the seller to help set that price thereby making the appraisers job expanded in the customer service category. Cost maybe around $300.00 for this service.
The seller would however be responsible for showing the property to perspective buyers. At this point I believe there is still room for there to be a buyers agent for those buyers who do not know how to surf the net or have the will power to call someone who is selling their house. The agent could theoretically set up the showing and search for propert for a nominal fee - $69 - $99.00 for that service to the buyer.
A lawyer would handle the closing and paperwork (pretty much as it is done now) and the forms would be fairly standardized and the lawyer/mediator could have a pre-closing/ negotiation meeting for the paperwork negotiation/ signing. The lawyer would still take his fee from the closing cost.
Who keeps the deal on track? A program could easily keep the sale on track, even one that is offered through the web site. The buyer shops for free. When the buyer is ready to make a offer he/she can create an account (lasting up to 3 months/ non-automatic re-subscription (I hate those))for that same price $29.95. In that time the buyer can make offers on the property/properties of his/her choosing. Once a seller accepts an offer a program would take over the track of events to follow depending on the agreed upon time-line.
The seller still has do the termite/pest control letter by such and such a date and by using this program (it would follow a transaction number) when that inspection was done the pest control company could even be wired in to automatically authenticate it the moment they have finished the inspection.
Likewise the buyer can still get the inspector and the inspector could do the same thing.
The seller could specify the lawyer to use and the agreed upon earnest money can be paypaled/ wired ETC... directly into the holding account to be dispersed by the lawyer.

That would all be fairly easy to set up and very cost effective to all parties.
I would like to hear more ideas on how we as Realtors can remain more relevant in this technological society?
I don't want to hear "customer service" because in many ways cost trumps customer service. Discount brokers are also not the answer. I believe in the future the industry as a whole is going to need a major face lift to remain relevant.
So in the future what will be a Realtors role in the transaction?

Jason,
I got new for you. If you believe you are being replaced by the internet then you may as well find yourself a job right now.

The internet is just one more tool that buyers and sellers are using to search for or attempt to place a value on their homes.

What we as agents/broker bring to the table is our knowledge, experience and skills to guide them through the process of buying and selling homes.

Remember all those Dot.Com companies in various industries that thought they could run a virtual business? The vast majority are not with us any longer and those that are adapted to a more stable model.

Sure a person can sell their own home but the overwhelming majority do not have the time nor do they want the hassles that go with the process. If you think that the process is somehow going to get less complicated then you are way off as long as there are governmental regulations to deal with.

What have you been smoking?

Just keeping a deal together requires cartwheels and contortions.

This is not what I meant but it is exactly the response I pictured.
You need to remember, IBM once said that no one will ever have a need for a computer in their home, well...look how that turned out.
As far as the dotcom bust...More online dot com companies have been started in the last 2 years than the entire time leading up to the bust as reported by CNN and the Drudge Report. Are the new models stable? Sure but they are innovative.
If a industry does not innovate it stagnates.
Remember the travel agencies before priceline?
Why wait and see, why not be innovative and come up with something more than "let me guide you."
By the a program could also take a lot of the government aspects into account where a person could try and get away with something.
I'm not saying I want Realtors to dissappear. I'm saying that as far as the sale of a home the Realtor is becoming less important and I would like to find away to be of more value than the sum of the words "let me guide your transaction."
We don't really sell real estate. We really don't negotiate anything, we can guide a persons decision but ultimately thats not negotiation. Negotiation could be defined as 2 parties and a lawyer goiing into a room and hammering out the details. Thats negotiation.
Oh yeah, we negotiate our commission. 6% or I walk or I if I cut it I cut something in the marketing. Wow, I negotiate my client for my benifit, thats not negotiating the transaction.
Yeah people don't want to deal with it but seriously it could all be done just as easy if not easier automated.
So really, why doesn't the NAR come up with something more innovative than "let me guide your transaction?"
The old guard needs to wake up and see that it won't ALWAYS be this way.
I'm a member of the NAR but only because I have to be. The NAR is somewhat like a union, good for it's members but a real drain on innovation.
So, what can we as Realtors do to make ourselves more important?

Why do you think we are looked as as less scrupulous than a Lawyer?

Jason,
You may not negotiate for your clients but I do for mine and I market my properties as well. What my clients are really paying for is my 17+ yrs of education and experience. I solve problems and get to the closing table and that is my job!

The internet is a tool and I do not see it replacing agents anytime in the future. Agents just need to effectivley utilize this tool.

So Jason just how long have you been in the real estate business and what did you do before you joined our dying breed.....?

How do you negotiate for your clients?

The internet is a tool. Period.

I used to be in automotive finance. Some guy pointed his finger at me in 1995 or 96 and told me that dealer personnel would be dinosaurs by 2000 because of this newfangled internet.

Well, its 2006 and the auto business is working the same way it has for decades. Saavy dealers use the internet to ease transaction difficulties and to make the entire process more efficient.

And to boot, dealers are making more money per unit (as a percentage) now than ever done before!

RE is the same way. Sure, some people will get out because of the perceived threat of the internet taking over. That's ok.

The internet, in all its glory, doesn't have a conscious. It doesn't know how to read peoples emotions, it doesn't know how to ask questions in order to get to the gist of a person's point of view. In general, the internet can't sell!

I am not at all afraid of what is to come. Like it or not, a good portion of our protocols are in place because not of convenience, but of necessity. The day the internet provides human service is the day I move to a deserted island.

So Jason, since you enjoy assumptive questions, how long have you been beating your wife?

Unless you have a fact or an article I'd recommend you avoid such questions in the future.

******

Discounted or do it yourself approaches have been available for 20 years, and they have been supported by powerful internet sites for the last 3-5 years.

I'll send $100 to your favorite charity, if you find me a discounter than has more than 10% market share in terms of closed volume in their county.

You won't.

When traditional franchise systems can consistently generate 20-30% market share, and traditional brokerages as a whole handle 80-90% of transactions in a given market they don't have do justify their existence.

As a discounter you do.

The prominent discount brokerage in my area outspends every other brokerage combined on advertising. They couldn't even break 5% market share during an over heated seller's market.

Ultimately... every discounter's greatest fear is another discounter. Unique selling propositions and customer service aren't a big part of a high volume model. Anyone can do it cheaper and if they have a bigger ad budget, you're dead as a discounter.

However, traditional brokerages who encourage individual agents to build strong niches in the neighborhoods they serve consistently handle many, many more transactions than a discount driven, brand centric marketing model.

While the internet is good, people sell houses, people hold transactions together, people help buyers and sellers through the biggest transaction of their life (so far.)

Those people happen to be Realtors, and if you don't get that you're in the wrong business.

After all... if you were so busy with all that discount model volume, you wouldn't have time to tell we we're all going out of business.

As the hip kids on the hockey chat boards say... PWND!

Are you still in automotive finance today? Why not? My observation of the auto business is they've gone from full commissions to salary plus comm., now it's pretty much just salary or draw. Profit per car might be higher for the dealership, not so for the salespeople. People will always need human interaction to buy a house. People will still buy houses but that doesn't mean agents will play the same role of today. The internet isn't going to replace human beings but it's going to change how human beings shop and make decisions. It's also not never going to become a for sale by owner world because nobody wants to surf a hundred fsbo sites for a house. I bought my last airline tickets online. My last rental car was done online. So was my banking statements, billpay, computer, digital camera. The web isn't going to replace agents it's just going to change how agents do things. That's going to replace a lot of commission agents that bank on making a living selling a few houses a year.

Have to agree with this statement. The brand with the biggest ad budget can sell even the worst real estate brokerage to the public. We realtors will always be in business just not most of us.

Nope. I have a couple of friends who are still on the finance side. Still commission only. A finance director friend of mine makes @200k/yr.

Furthermore, the auto industry has used technology to look at ways to increase revenue (those greedy bastards).

For instance, when I started as an F&I manager in a dealership, we barely had faxable credit apps. The wait time on someone who was A+ was 20-30 mins. Depending on the Gen. Mgr. or dealer, sometimes you had to wait until you had a hard copy approval before you contracted the buyer.
Now, deals are pretty much approved instantaneously if the buyer is anywhere from A+ to C. The decreased wait time allows the F&I mgr to make more money because buyers tend to buy more product when they don't have to wait as long.

Similar in RE. We use our technology to make us better, not to eliminate ourselves. If we were that expendable, I would be afraid that the machines were actually in control and we lived in the Matrix.

Sarcasm Noted...

After all everyone employs technology in order to give away competitve advantage and profit margins.

In some cases the internet does not help because it sets up unrealistic expectations. The pictures in many cases are better than the house really is or in some cases worse.The buyers think they are going to see a wonderful house and then when they see it they are disappointed, but since they saw it on the TV and the net, they assume they can get that marble kitchen and baths at houseboat prices. So insist if you will but we will not be replaced.
Oh and by the way I used to own a bridal shop and experienced the brides who came in pleading with me to upgrade the gown they purchsed on the net, thinking they had a real bargain, only to find a piece of garbage. After the first few I refused to work on any of them because the quality was so poor they would fall apart during the alterations. Even the local David's is out of business and the small shops are thriving again.


Service does count.

One customer will not view houses until they review the pics, even though I know they will not really be happy with the ones they pick like that. Nothing can replace seeing a house in person.

Jason,
If I have to explain to you how an agent negotiates for his client then you may be in the wrong business.

You failed to respond on how long you have been in real estate and what you did before deciding to try real estate?

BTW your wesite needs some more details. When clicking the about me section the information is all about the company even in the personal section.