The Internet may not have had the impact we all thought it would on housing

[sdduuuude]

[quote=sdrealtor]There is a fairly widely held hypothesis that because we can find so much more information online about real estate that the market is more efficient and hence prices should be relatively lower now.[/quote]

sdr, I think I’m going to correct you by saying that I don’t think that is how I would describe the “fairly widely held hypothesis”

You say the hypothesis is that the market is more efficient and hence prices should be lower now.

I think, a few years ago, the hypothesis was this:
1) Prices are well above fundamentals.
2) Without the internet, it would take a long time for prices to drop. With the internet, prices should adjust more quickly to a level supported by fundamentals.

The hypothesis was about the speed of correction, not the price level to which it would correct.

You have to admit, such a large plunge in 3 years from 2005 to 2008 is a pretty rapid adjustment.

[sdrealtor]

Thank you all for participating in a good conversation. We havent had many lately.

[sdrealtor]

Thank you all for participating in a good conversation. We havent had many lately.

[sdrealtor]

Thank you all for participating in a good conversation. We havent had many lately.

[sdrealtor]

Thank you all for participating in a good conversation. We havent had many lately.

[sdrealtor]

Thank you all for participating in a good conversation. We havent had many lately.

[treehugger]

I am a single woman and a potential buyer:

I have an iphone and am continuously updated on the latest listings. Since I have a vested interest I know every listing that hits the mls in my target area. The way the system is set up I have to use a realtor if I want to see the inside of a house I have already walked around the outside of and scoped out the neighborhood, I do not need to discuss/or talk it over with a “full service realtor”, that is what my family/friends are for.

To the question of “Is it different now?” I am surprised that real estate has not morphed into a flat fee based business vs commission.

Why not for sale by owners? In the age of the internet take some great photos, list your house on MLS, and offer a flat fee to a realtor/broker that brings in a buyer or talk directly to me the buyer and we will use a real estate attorney at a flat fee to handle all the paper work.

Instead the for sale by owners are convinced that their home is worth more now than it was in the height and the realtor tries to tell them it is not so they refuse to use a realtor and list their home for a ridiculous amount, hold open houses, and get irate when potential female buyer walks in and laughs at price and walks out. A few weeks later potential female buyer now see said house on mls with agent for about what she told him she would pay 🙂

I have difficulty trying to navigate the world of unscrupulous realtors who like to hold “pocket listings” and are more than happy to engage my business if they think they will get both ends of the commission.

Ugh….I just want a house that fits my needs/budget, why is this so difficult!

[treehugger]

I am a single woman and a potential buyer:

I have an iphone and am continuously updated on the latest listings. Since I have a vested interest I know every listing that hits the mls in my target area. The way the system is set up I have to use a realtor if I want to see the inside of a house I have already walked around the outside of and scoped out the neighborhood, I do not need to discuss/or talk it over with a “full service realtor”, that is what my family/friends are for.

To the question of “Is it different now?” I am surprised that real estate has not morphed into a flat fee based business vs commission.

Why not for sale by owners? In the age of the internet take some great photos, list your house on MLS, and offer a flat fee to a realtor/broker that brings in a buyer or talk directly to me the buyer and we will use a real estate attorney at a flat fee to handle all the paper work.

Instead the for sale by owners are convinced that their home is worth more now than it was in the height and the realtor tries to tell them it is not so they refuse to use a realtor and list their home for a ridiculous amount, hold open houses, and get irate when potential female buyer walks in and laughs at price and walks out. A few weeks later potential female buyer now see said house on mls with agent for about what she told him she would pay 🙂

I have difficulty trying to navigate the world of unscrupulous realtors who like to hold “pocket listings” and are more than happy to engage my business if they think they will get both ends of the commission.

Ugh….I just want a house that fits my needs/budget, why is this so difficult!

[treehugger]

I am a single woman and a potential buyer:

I have an iphone and am continuously updated on the latest listings. Since I have a vested interest I know every listing that hits the mls in my target area. The way the system is set up I have to use a realtor if I want to see the inside of a house I have already walked around the outside of and scoped out the neighborhood, I do not need to discuss/or talk it over with a “full service realtor”, that is what my family/friends are for.

To the question of “Is it different now?” I am surprised that real estate has not morphed into a flat fee based business vs commission.

Why not for sale by owners? In the age of the internet take some great photos, list your house on MLS, and offer a flat fee to a realtor/broker that brings in a buyer or talk directly to me the buyer and we will use a real estate attorney at a flat fee to handle all the paper work.

Instead the for sale by owners are convinced that their home is worth more now than it was in the height and the realtor tries to tell them it is not so they refuse to use a realtor and list their home for a ridiculous amount, hold open houses, and get irate when potential female buyer walks in and laughs at price and walks out. A few weeks later potential female buyer now see said house on mls with agent for about what she told him she would pay 🙂

I have difficulty trying to navigate the world of unscrupulous realtors who like to hold “pocket listings” and are more than happy to engage my business if they think they will get both ends of the commission.

Ugh….I just want a house that fits my needs/budget, why is this so difficult!

[treehugger]

I am a single woman and a potential buyer:

I have an iphone and am continuously updated on the latest listings. Since I have a vested interest I know every listing that hits the mls in my target area. The way the system is set up I have to use a realtor if I want to see the inside of a house I have already walked around the outside of and scoped out the neighborhood, I do not need to discuss/or talk it over with a “full service realtor”, that is what my family/friends are for.

To the question of “Is it different now?” I am surprised that real estate has not morphed into a flat fee based business vs commission.

Why not for sale by owners? In the age of the internet take some great photos, list your house on MLS, and offer a flat fee to a realtor/broker that brings in a buyer or talk directly to me the buyer and we will use a real estate attorney at a flat fee to handle all the paper work.

Instead the for sale by owners are convinced that their home is worth more now than it was in the height and the realtor tries to tell them it is not so they refuse to use a realtor and list their home for a ridiculous amount, hold open houses, and get irate when potential female buyer walks in and laughs at price and walks out. A few weeks later potential female buyer now see said house on mls with agent for about what she told him she would pay 🙂

I have difficulty trying to navigate the world of unscrupulous realtors who like to hold “pocket listings” and are more than happy to engage my business if they think they will get both ends of the commission.

Ugh….I just want a house that fits my needs/budget, why is this so difficult!

[treehugger]

I am a single woman and a potential buyer:

I have an iphone and am continuously updated on the latest listings. Since I have a vested interest I know every listing that hits the mls in my target area. The way the system is set up I have to use a realtor if I want to see the inside of a house I have already walked around the outside of and scoped out the neighborhood, I do not need to discuss/or talk it over with a “full service realtor”, that is what my family/friends are for.

To the question of “Is it different now?” I am surprised that real estate has not morphed into a flat fee based business vs commission.

Why not for sale by owners? In the age of the internet take some great photos, list your house on MLS, and offer a flat fee to a realtor/broker that brings in a buyer or talk directly to me the buyer and we will use a real estate attorney at a flat fee to handle all the paper work.

Instead the for sale by owners are convinced that their home is worth more now than it was in the height and the realtor tries to tell them it is not so they refuse to use a realtor and list their home for a ridiculous amount, hold open houses, and get irate when potential female buyer walks in and laughs at price and walks out. A few weeks later potential female buyer now see said house on mls with agent for about what she told him she would pay 🙂

I have difficulty trying to navigate the world of unscrupulous realtors who like to hold “pocket listings” and are more than happy to engage my business if they think they will get both ends of the commission.

Ugh….I just want a house that fits my needs/budget, why is this so difficult!

[sdrealtor]

I really want to keep this on topic and while there are some good points I want to stick to what was in my mind. My point isnt that ths is the only factor but rather a contributiong factor supporting higher prices.

I’m not saying that gov’t intervention isnt a factor in keeping prices high. We know it is. I’m not sure we can say the Internet creates new demand (though it might encourage people to move by having greater visibility onto what they can get) either. What hit me was that the Internet brings a greater share of the demand to the forefront immediately after a home is listed. When a good property is listed at a fair price it gets slammed with interest and offers immediately. The price can get driven up a little because of the frenzy. Before the Internet the only frenzy was at new tracts with buyers camping out. It just seems to me that the benefits of the Internet to the seller could be are as strong or stronger than they are for buyers.

FWIW, I have a listing about to close that sold at least $25K above and probably closer to $50K above what I thought it could reasonably sell for. Multiple offers the 1st weekend despite an asking price I was almost embaressed to put on it. The market proved me wrong and overly pessimistic in this case.

[sdrealtor]

I really want to keep this on topic and while there are some good points I want to stick to what was in my mind. My point isnt that ths is the only factor but rather a contributiong factor supporting higher prices.

I’m not saying that gov’t intervention isnt a factor in keeping prices high. We know it is. I’m not sure we can say the Internet creates new demand (though it might encourage people to move by having greater visibility onto what they can get) either. What hit me was that the Internet brings a greater share of the demand to the forefront immediately after a home is listed. When a good property is listed at a fair price it gets slammed with interest and offers immediately. The price can get driven up a little because of the frenzy. Before the Internet the only frenzy was at new tracts with buyers camping out. It just seems to me that the benefits of the Internet to the seller could be are as strong or stronger than they are for buyers.

FWIW, I have a listing about to close that sold at least $25K above and probably closer to $50K above what I thought it could reasonably sell for. Multiple offers the 1st weekend despite an asking price I was almost embaressed to put on it. The market proved me wrong and overly pessimistic in this case.

[sdrealtor]

I really want to keep this on topic and while there are some good points I want to stick to what was in my mind. My point isnt that ths is the only factor but rather a contributiong factor supporting higher prices.

I’m not saying that gov’t intervention isnt a factor in keeping prices high. We know it is. I’m not sure we can say the Internet creates new demand (though it might encourage people to move by having greater visibility onto what they can get) either. What hit me was that the Internet brings a greater share of the demand to the forefront immediately after a home is listed. When a good property is listed at a fair price it gets slammed with interest and offers immediately. The price can get driven up a little because of the frenzy. Before the Internet the only frenzy was at new tracts with buyers camping out. It just seems to me that the benefits of the Internet to the seller could be are as strong or stronger than they are for buyers.

FWIW, I have a listing about to close that sold at least $25K above and probably closer to $50K above what I thought it could reasonably sell for. Multiple offers the 1st weekend despite an asking price I was almost embaressed to put on it. The market proved me wrong and overly pessimistic in this case.

[sdrealtor]

I really want to keep this on topic and while there are some good points I want to stick to what was in my mind. My point isnt that ths is the only factor but rather a contributiong factor supporting higher prices.

I’m not saying that gov’t intervention isnt a factor in keeping prices high. We know it is. I’m not sure we can say the Internet creates new demand (though it might encourage people to move by having greater visibility onto what they can get) either. What hit me was that the Internet brings a greater share of the demand to the forefront immediately after a home is listed. When a good property is listed at a fair price it gets slammed with interest and offers immediately. The price can get driven up a little because of the frenzy. Before the Internet the only frenzy was at new tracts with buyers camping out. It just seems to me that the benefits of the Internet to the seller could be are as strong or stronger than they are for buyers.

FWIW, I have a listing about to close that sold at least $25K above and probably closer to $50K above what I thought it could reasonably sell for. Multiple offers the 1st weekend despite an asking price I was almost embaressed to put on it. The market proved me wrong and overly pessimistic in this case.

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