If the agent is no longer providing the most important services, then it only seems natural that the consumer would not be willing to pay as much for the services rendered. Consumers advocacy groups recognize this and argue that the consumer loses in transaction brokerages because they get less service. So if the real estate agent is not providing these services, what value does the consumer realize? The consumer already has the information available to them on the internet. The agent is a neutral party who does not represent any party. Under transaction brokerage an agent cannot give advice, counsel or advocate for the consumer. The agent is expected to advise on price, earnest money and repairs as well as fight for them in negotiations. The consumer expects a real estate agent to provide professional guidance on the houses that best suit their needs. If an agent is no longer the gate-keeper of information what role does a real estate agent play? A real estate agent’s primary value today is their knowledge and expertise in advising, counseling and advocating for their client. The consumer can research a neighborhood and quickly learn the number of houses for sale, properties that have sold, the average dollar per square foot and much more. With the growth of real estate websites such as Trulia and Zillow the consumer often has as much information as the agent. Unless the consumer wanted to drive around town or read small print newspaper ads the real estate agent was the best source of information concerning available properties and prices. Without a real estate agent the consumer did not have information readily available. So what exactly is the downside to transaction brokerage?įor many years real estate agents were the gate-keepers of information. Many consumer advocates maintain that it is detrimental to the consumer while brokers believe it will drive prices down. Many articles have been written over the past few years decrying transaction brokerage as more states move to allow this brokerage. A transaction broker also may facilitate a transaction without representing either party.” Transaction brokerage is a departure from traditional single agency. A transaction broker may be a single agent of a party in a transaction giving the other party customer service. Transaction brokerage is defined as “a real estate brokerage firm that provides customer service to a buyer, a seller, or both in a real estate transaction. This change is pursuant to the revised real estate law that becomes effective at the new year. Transaction brokerage will be allowed in South Carolina starting January 1, 2017. In the last two posts we examined transaction brokerage.
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