What do consumers want? I believe this question has been asked ten times to Sunday as it relates to real estate.
I recently read Marc Davison’s recent blog post at 1000Watt Blog summarizing the results of that exact question, What do Consumers Want?. The report, commissioned by Keller Williams, was developed and written by an impressive list of MBAs and PhDs. With that amount of intellectual firepower, it is often difficult to question its credibility.
In addition to the report commissioned by Keller Williams, MBA and PhD’s et al, I read a synopsis of NAR’s buyer and seller’s survey, essentially providing the statistics behind today’s buyers and sellers as well as their needs. I honed in a three key points in NAR’s report:
1. “Home buyers are consistent in their expectations of real estate agents. Buyers thought the most important agent services are helping find the right house, and negotiating sales terms and price. Because agents often are chosen based on a referral, or were used in a previous transaction, two-thirds of buyers contacted only one real estate agent in the search process.”
2. “Primarily, sellers want agents to price their home competitively, market the property, find a buyer and sell within a specific timeframe.”
3. “The most difficult tasks reported by unrepresented sellers are selling within the planned length of time, getting the right price, preparing the home for sale, and understanding and performing paperwork.”
What I found interesting about the Keller William’s report was its premise – How do you go about the process of selecting an agent? What I found interesting about the NAR report was that the premise was more consumer centric, not agent centric.
The question I pose is how many of the current RE Web 2.0 solutions have truly “blue sky” functionality? What if the premise assumed that there was no real estate agent? What if a solution existed that allowed the consumer to buy and sell real estate at will without the use of a professional?
Ok – now don’t excommunicate me. I think from a technology perspective, I believe it is a very valid question. All too often, solutions are born out of specific functionality – the latest and greatest whiz bang tools, rather than a defined process which could better leverage technology to provide real value-added results. Where there is value created, consumers tend to pay.
While consumers use the web in numbers greater than 80% to search for a new home, they still rely on a professional to consummate the transaction. I doubt this chasm is due to technology’s limitations.
As I’ve posted before, no current solution follows the natural flow of a transaction. What if a solution provided a consistent roadmap from beginning to end?
Where is the inherent value created in the process of using web-enable tools? Surprisingly, NAR’s report comes closer to defining where those touch points exist versus Keller William’s report.
Ken Montville says:
Certainly technology has a place, and a prominent one at that, yet buying a home is a combination of both the highly emotional (this may be where I raise my family) to the highly rational (will it appreciate enough, over time, to provide me with equity?). Perhaps a total technological solution would work for investors who could care less about the emotional component. However, even investors, I would think, would want to see the house even if only by digital photos/videos and have it managed or rehabbed or whatever.
I think that no matter how removed from the process technology enables consumers to be that they will still need a bit of the human touch to see them through the process.
Real Estate really is different from buying a car.
November 20, 2008 — 5:16 pm
CompeteRealty says:
Very interesting survey.
I may be bias but I agree with Ken. There is a need for real estate agents that technology is not going to replace anytime soon.
November 20, 2008 — 6:33 pm
Mary Ann Knell-Peoria Realtor says:
I would have to agree with Ken. Buying a home is an emotional investment, especially for a family, and no matter how great technology is, there will be nothing that beats going to a house, and walking around in that yard to decide if it is right for you.
November 20, 2008 — 7:37 pm
bryanslist says:
Couldn’t agree less Ken.
I think that pretty much the majority of the Web 2.0 generation has no interest in being bothered by a “human touch.” It truly seems that pretty much every REALTOR I’ve ever worked with really does nothing but complicate & convolute the process.
There are your handful of good ones, but they are good for a reason and unless you have a personal relationship with them, they are likely not going to give you the time that you seem to be alluding to.
All of the information is or soon will be available online. I just want it as fast, simple and condensed as possible.
November 20, 2008 — 8:34 pm
J Boyer Morristown NJ Condos says:
Tech has it’s place, but I have seen otherwise very educated people who should know better make some very bad decisions when they did so without the help of a professional. My partner just did so with the purchase of a property in another city a few hundred miles away. I was just in it for the first time a week ago, and all I could think is what a hole.
November 20, 2008 — 8:52 pm
David Sherfey says:
>What if a solution provided a consistent roadmap from beginning to end?
Where do you define as the “end?”
Agents solve problems which pop up along the way, large and small, and include complete changes in direction after the buyer makes a discovery of something they were unaware of earlier. A tech “solution” would need to be very dynamic and portable to facilitate this.
The concept of garbage-in-garbage-out would apply to any solution, because everything in a tech solution would depend on the “data” supplied by the listing agent. We all know how much this can vary. The tech solution search can get screwed-up from this point forward.
Further, there is too much variation in a buyer’s changing concepts of “home” for a tech solution to ever be able to do a consistent and reliable job keeping up with it all. Who would input the data, and how reliable are they?
I could be wrong….
If you have something in mind, it would be fun to play around with!
November 21, 2008 — 4:55 am
Brian Miller says:
Thomas says “…no current solution follows the natural flow of a transaction. What if a solution provided a consistent roadmap from beginning to end?…”
To me this is key to why real estate agents are “needed”. Are there any two transactions that have the same path from begining to end? A good agent can be a real asset in getting a home sale closed.
It seems to me this is a tough gap for technology to jump. Not impossible, but technology doesn’t always fill the need humans (with all our quirks) desire when making a purchase of this sort. Of course an agent that doesn’t contribute to the process and instead complicates and convolutes it as “bryanslist” states is not an answer either.
November 21, 2008 — 10:23 am
Annie Brunson says:
Yes, being a technologically savvy Real Estate agent can be benefit in today’s changing markets. But buyers seem to need savvy negotiating skills more than the ability to show a home on their web based phone. By far, the number #1 disappointment buyers have with agents is that they don’t feel their agents negotiated hard enough for them.
November 21, 2008 — 3:53 pm
Thomas Hall says:
Thanks all for your great comments,
I don’t believe technology and a real estate professional are mutually exclusive.
Being a tech savvy agent isn’t necessarily the answer either in my opinion. I believe technology compliments and provides greater value to the role agents play in providing the greatest benefits to consumers.
@David – you pose a great question – what is the end? I guess I would define the end of the roadmap to be the successful close of a transaction. I am not talking about a contact management system but ideally a transaction methodology. Search capability becomes as aspect of the process not the overriding functionality.
We as professionals do significantly more than search for property, moreover, interpreting MLS data is again only an aspect of the role we play.
I suggest that the transaction should follow a consistent set of steps. Granted, no two transactions are the same, however, the critical path should be relatively consistent.
Often times we as real estate professionals may begin working with a client at different points during the process, therefore any tool must be flexible to adapt.
November 21, 2008 — 9:23 pm
Thomas Johnson says:
“the transaction should follow a consistent set of steps.”
It does, until the buyer decides they don’t want to climb steps, or decide they can pay more, need to pay less, don’t/do want a shorter/longer commute. Or, title is cloudy, credit is muddy or the lender fails. Or, inspections are ugly, or a hurricane washes the house up the ship channel hopefully without the seller inside or blows the roof off a house in escrow, Any of which cause a reboot.
November 23, 2008 — 4:22 pm
Thomas Hall says:
TJ – your point is EXACTLY why there needs to be a consistent process. Determining affordability should be the first discussion before someone even sets foot into their first property.
Currently, search capability does not allow the agent and/or consumer to determine a property that provides the best “fit”. There are many attributes that make both a property and it’s location unique.
You’re absolutely right, many times things change, however, a methodology should account for changes – sometimes you go back to step one. But does the consumer know what step one is? Many do not.
November 23, 2008 — 8:44 pm
Michael Trinchitella says:
I read somewhere that “The Internet will never replace the real estate agent; however the agent who uses the Internet will replace the agent who does not”
December 1, 2008 — 11:41 am
Thomas Hall says:
Michael – thanks for weighing in. I believe your quote is spot on – which has triggered my thoughts for a new post!
December 2, 2008 — 2:41 pm