Online real estate brokers retool

NEW YORK – April 7, 2009 – Silicon Valley once thought it could replace the old-fashioned Realtor, touring would-be buyers around town in a well-worn Mercedes, with online agents working remotely for cut-rate commissions. It hasn’t worked out that way. ZipRealty and privately held Redfin, two firms slugging it out in the online realty business, are posting some better numbers recently. But both have had to change their business models radically, making them look a lot more like the traditional real estate agencies they once hoped to put out of business.The first of the dot-home contenders was Zip, which was launched in 1999 with funding from Benchmark Capital, one of the early backers of eBay. Zip, like Redfin, is a discount broker, meaning it shares some of its sales commissions with its clients. This is a different business from that of real estate search sites, such as Zillow.com, Yahoo Real Estate, and MSN Real Estate, which list homes for sale and sell advertising on their sites but don’t actually try to handle the sale.
**The lesson-- Buyer beware, use your best judgement, do your research. Network with friends and relatives and ask about positive experiences with local Realtors. Meet with them, interview them, let them evaluate your property and show you the current market. Choose a professional Realtor with a customer service centered approach. Any 'licensee' can show you a few properties. Go with a pro like you would in any other endeavor (would you go to a cut rate animal hospital for a tooth ache so you can save a few bucks?). Go with a Realtor.