No matter what technology comes about, agents seem confident their services will always be needed.
One tech company, which promises peer-to-peer home selling without the use of an agent doesn’t worry industry professionals.
“Another site with overpriced, unrealistic listings like all FSBO sites before this one. Who helps the homeowner negotiate as well? Sounds like a bunch of listings that will never sell!” one agent wrote in the comments section of REP. “At that point seller reverts back to traditional agents to get the job done. Hopefully they didn't waste too much time and the market changed and passed them by, which they also won't know until they work with an agent.”
A Canadian startup called Seizin likens itself to Uber and Airbnb and claims to give Canadians control of the real estate market by cutting out third-party commissions.
“Seizin is a Canadian startup launching an online platform for residential real estate in Toronto,” Seizin said in a press kit, which was shared with REP. “The Seizin platform is the beginning of true peer-to-peer real estate in Canada, empowering homeowners to market their properties to prospective buyers and cut out agents’ commissions to save tens – if not hundreds – of thousands of dollars.”
For their part, however, realtors are confident their services will always be needed – despite promises from companies to cut out their commissions.
“As an agent I'm not worried. They've been saying the internet will replace agents for some time now. Problem with the internet is there's too much information a good part of which is incorrect,” another reader wrote. “Agents are not marketers so much as networkers and negotiators. Agents broker the deal. It (Seizin) will be little more than another FSBO site.”