Homebuyers

In the last couple of weeks, I ve seen a lot of attention in the media to some key advertising numbers. So much so, in fact, that now it s undeniably a trend.

MarketWatch cited a newspaper industry consulting firm who estimated that by 2009 (4 years), more dollars will be spent advertising real estate online than in newspaper classifieds. (article here) Why? Online real estate is out of the experimentation phase now, says the consulting firm. It has proven its effectiveness - agents, brokers and developers are now committing more and more of the advertising budget to online ads.

A Realty Times article (article here) lists the growth of some key real estate websites - AOL Real Estate: up 212% in last 6 months; ForSaleByOwner.com: up 154% in last 6 months.

I love Nielsen//NetRatings analysis: “That suggests more consumers are taking home selling into their own hands.”

When you can put your own home online just as easily as an agent, and reach the same audience as an agent, and save thousands of dollars, is anyone surprised??

Then, the National Association of Realtors 2004 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers found that now 80% of homebuyers shop online for a home. Do they find one? You betcha. The #1 way buyers found the home they bought was using an agent, at 38%. Next was a yard sign, at 16%. A close 3rd was the internet, at 15%.

News: Limited Services Real Estate Bill Hangs in Wait

News: US DOJ Urges OK State Legislature to Reject SB 673

If you live in Oklahoma, you should be outraged at some of your state representatives!

The proposed Senate Bill 673 is a step towards removing any choices you as a consumer have in determining for yourself what services you want and want to pay for when choosing a method to sell your house. It s essentially a mandatory tax for buying or selling real estate. No, you re not paying the government, but you have no choice whether or not to pay it - the state senate is trying to take that choice away from you - so it accomplishes the exact same thing as a tax.

Is it not reasonable to expect that a person - an Oklahoma citizen - can do at least enough research to find out what services are being provided or not by a particular company?? Let s be serious. To the Oklahoma legislature: start treating your voters like the adults they are.

I suggest any readers from Oklahoma contact their state legislators and a) let them know you want to make your own choices about real estate representation and b) ask them to pledge to vote against Senate Bill 673.

This is just another example of the realtor special-interest trying to protect their own pocket book, at your expense. They can t win in the marketplace, so they re trying to get laws passed that put their competition out of business. Despicable.