HOUSTON -- With online real estate becoming more popular with consumers, has the agent’s role diminished?
Not at all, said a panel of online real estate website executives at the National Association of Real Estate Editors’ convention here.
“Eighty-nine percent of home sellers last year were represented by a licensed real estate professional,” said Lanny Baker, CEO of ZipRealty, an online residential real estate marketplace. “In 2001, it was 69 percent. Given where technology has gone, with the transparency and wealth of information online, the agent has been able to maintain his role as a trusted advisor.”
“We all have this arms race of crime data and walk scores and pet livability and all these things we can surround the house with, and it is great and valuable data, but what consumers are looking for is the insight of local professionals who know the properties and know the neighborhoods,” said Erik Eckardt, of Hubzu.
“Our agents are like a band of roving reporters. They (buyers) do trust and respect agents who can convey their expertise in a digestible, no-obligation way.”
Nick Segal of Partners Trust in Los Angeles, real estate broker Martha Turner of Houston and Frank Malpica of ERA Real Estate discuss luxury housing at the National Association of Real Estate Editors' conference in Houston on June 11, 2014. Staff photo / Harold Bubil; 6-11-2014.
BEST QUOTES
Quotesmiths in action at the NAREE convention:
• “People say they want a small home, but what they really want is a small home with lots and lots of big rooms.” — Will Holder, Trendmaker Homes, Houston.
• “Young people know the market through the computer. They know the prices and what sold, and they only need us to open the door, and sometimes they don’t need that if we are not on our toes.” — Martha Turner, president, Martha Turner Sotheby’s International Realty, Houston.
• “Four fifths of the American public at one point have ‘Zillowed’ their home.” — Errol Samuelson, chief industry development officer, Zillow.com.
• “Compare oranges to oranges. Housing is local. Look at things on a granular level.” — Brad Hunter, economist, Metrostudy.
• “The No. 1 thing consumers want on our site is pictures of the property — great, high-quality pictures. No. 2, they want to read the write-up by the agent and the owner.” — Lanny Baker, CEO, ZipRealty.
