Wotif and similar sites have revolutionised making travel arrangements. They have eliminated middlemen (travel agents), cut costs and given us more options and responsibility. eBay has done something similar in the general classifieds space. I suspect that real-estate is next. Real-estate print and online advertising has, until recently, been controlled by real-estate agents. This makes it unreasonably expensive. My sense is that vendors are ready to take more control in pursuit of retaining more of the selling price. While there will always be a place for high service real-estate agents, I suspect they will be fewer in number in a two or three years than we see today.
Our Find It classified site provides vendors the ability to advertise direct. We have lowered the barrier. As our retail partners, newsagents will start spreading this message soon. All ads on Find It are currently free. Charges will apply from early in 2007 and even then we will be cheaper than Domain, Realestate.com.au and others.
Mark,
Here is the thing about Real Estate agents and Recruitment companies. They are one of the very very few business that use other peoples money to market THEIR business. A real estate agent will always recommend and expensive advertising campaign for their client because they want to soak up as more advertising real estate (excuse the pun) than their competitors. Their clients money is used to build their business.
Recruitment is very similar. Those recruitment companies that spend the big bucks putting the recruitment ads in the early sections of your broadsheet newspapers? Don’t kid yourself that it is to find the best candidate possible. It serves one purpose, to look like a bigger organisation than their competitors. Once again it is the CLIENT that is spending the money to build their brand. Overall a pretty good way to build your brand if you can get it.
Online is the perfect medium for what I call “keyword” marketing. I love the fact that if I am looking for a house I can actually search all the classifieds by a particular keyword, and get the results that I want. For the consumer it’s a better deal. It saves time and hassle.
“Keyword” buyers are the ones that are finding the online experience much better suited to their needs. If want you want to buy is best searched for using a keyword, you are better off doing it online.
The rort that real estate agents and recruitment companies have going on will slowly die, more so as people who buy a house use online to find it. Those people will become less anxious to spend their money on a real estate agent building their business using their own money….
Take a look at the average ad by a slick real estate agent or recruitment consultant. How much of that advertising space is used to advertise the agent rather than the specific job/house?
Any real estate agent or recruitment consultant that’s honest will tell you that online delivers more leads than any other sort of advertising. But that doesn’t stop them asking their clients to stump up some money to advertise their own business…..
I agree with your assessment and would add that newspaper publishers have aided and abetted this situation for too long and to the financial detriment of the customers of recruitment and real-estate agents.
I don’t agree. Much research has shown that people want expert help when buying and selling a home. Smart agents will do better in the new environment, even if consumer pressure alters commission structures and the form of agent-consumer relationship. As in any changing economy, bad agents will be shaken out.
I work at realestate.com.au. We will only accept listings from agents. That’s because we recognize how vital they are to the home sale process. By contrast, our smaller competitor Domain does accept listings direct from consumers. You can guess my opinion of that move.
Dave, I questin your reasoning for only accepting ads placed thriugh real estate agents. Your business was started by real estate agents. Since they owned you didn’t they set the rules and therefore ensure gatekeeper protection? Mark