HOUSTON BUSINESS JOURNAL
"Realtors: Home buyers still getting what they pay for"
- JUNE 22, 2007
Excerpt of Article by Nicole Bradford
In seconds, an Internet search can produce personalized results that once took hours for real estate professionals to compile, a scenario that has led to questions about what customers are getting for their commission dollar.
With home listings now a keystroke away from the browsing public, Realtors who once drove potential clients from neighborhood to neighborhood are seeing more and more customers who have a deeper understanding of the market and the properties they want to buy. They're also seeing changes in the ways some Realtors are being compensated.
"Customized Internet searches store favorite properties and give buyers an idea how quickly things are moving," says David Houston, president of New Leaf Real Estate. "You learn the market and you learn how fast things disappear and how quick you need to be."
Houston, who has a background in mortgage finance, began his real estate career only two years ago. While working in finance, he says he was surprised at how discerning customers are when it comes to new home loans.
"But I was amazed how little negotiating was going on with other fees that were even bigger," he says. "I had a friend who found his own home and only took one look with the Realtor and paid him $15,000."
Like many companies that want to keep up with technology, Houston's model allows customers who use the Internet to successfully circumvent part of the real estate process -- finding the property -- to use it to their financial gain. Those who close on one of the first 10 houses shown by the Realtor receive a rebate on Realtor fees; those who close on one of the first five properties receive a larger rebate.
"On a $300,000 home, if it's the first one we see and we write the contract," Houston says, "we collect 3 percent as commission ($9,000), but we rebate them 2 percent, or $6,000."
EXAMINERNEWS.COM
"Company changes client-realtor relations"
- JULY 5, 2007
Excerpt of Article by Marianne Horton
"Why should the Realtor automoatically get 3 percent (commission)?" he asked. "The market is transparent,
and buyers and sellers are aware of that."
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