A couple times a month we’ve been sending out the House Hunting Tips newsletter to highlight what’s hot on the consumer radar - think of it as feeling the consumer pulse - through the Trulia Voices feature (click here to sign up!).
In the past, popular topics have ranged from how far in advance to start the home buying process to whether to pay full commission to a Realtor if you found the home. Trulia Voices has been a great vehicle for consumers to ask what’s really concerning them, and it’s been our way to keep our ear to the ground on how home buyers are feeling about the market.
In the past few weeks, we’ve noticed a lot of discussion about finding the appropriate brokerage option at the right price–from online brokerage services like Redfin to discount brokers to full service. Check it out and let us know what you think.
1. How good are these online brokerage services?
Q: Redfin v. full-service agents. What’s everyone’s experience with Redfin as a service…
For those who prefer to look for their dream home in their PJs, online brokerages may be a good option. Home buyers and sellers give the skinny on their experiences and the pros and cons.
2. Do discount brokers mean discount services?
Q: I see lots of ads for listing agents offering full service at discounted commissions… Sounds too good to be true. Should I be wary…
Not necessarily, but consumers should know what your money is getting them before getting involved. Home sellers and industry professionals share what to expect from full service versus discount brokerages.
3. How early do I have to commit to an agent?
Q: Advantage using exclusive buyer’s agent?
I have been reading about exclusive buyer’s agents. I have read all of the advantages, posted by them, are there disadvantages? Nothing is perfect… right…?
Great for those of us that have a fear of commitment. The pros provide many possible pitfalls to working with an exclusive buyer’s agent, including flexibility, negotiating power and price!
Not seeing what you what you want to know about? Ask your question on Trulia Voices! It takes around 5 seconds to ask a question, and the average question is answered in only 20 minutes.
So what else are buyers and sellers buzzing about? Sign up for our House Hunting Tips newsletter, or check back on Trulia Blog for weekly highlights.
Popularity: 3% [?]
`
October 5th, 2007 at 3:58 pm
Your househunting commentary, in particular “whether to pay full commission to a Realtor if you found the home”, brings up an interesting question. I think it’s very rare that a Buyer just finds a home “on their own”. Nowadays, most Buyers are looking online, either on my website or the site of a competitor, a member of the MLS, of which I am a member. Those websites and listings are created by us as a collective. If a Buyer looks online and finds it online on a site that we’ve created to market our homes and as a convenience to the Buyer, then that Buyer hardly found the house “on their own”. Even if they found it by driving by, if they had spent time with another real estate agent, picking that agents brain, gathering and sharing information from that agent or several other agents and they have used that information to ready themselves to buy a home, then, again, they didn’t find the house “on their own”, even if they were alone in the car when driving by. The information received from our industry that readies that Buyer to bring him into the market and cause him to act, could be argued to be from our influence and knowledge. That Buyer did not act in a vacuum. If he saw an agents “For Sale” sign on a house, that is not finding the house “on his own”. It’s with the help of that listing agent who, with the sign, put the Buyer on alert that the home was for sale. I think that it’s important to make that distinction while discussing these issues.
October 9th, 2007 at 10:35 am
Hi Marlow,
Thanks for your input. You raised some interesting points about what the definition of finding a home on your own. The question itself was removed from Trulia Voices, but you can still view and add your answers to the thread here: http://www.trulia.com/voices/Home_Buying/removed-6811
Keep those thoughts coming!
Elain
January 17th, 2008 at 9:14 pm
There are lot of ideas and vary from state to stae and country to country.