HOUSINGNEWS REPORT
THE OFF-MARKET HOUSING MARKET
“Unfortunately, many utilize this practice to double dip the transaction, therefore not necessarily working in the best interest of the client. More activity and more offers drive up the price, not less activity because the property is held off the market instead of being in the MLS and marketed to many.” Watercutter adds that “the only way for ‘coming soon’ to be truly a benefit, is you still do not show the home to anyone until it is actively marketed, so all potential buyers have a fair and equal opportunity.”
funding can readily hire licensees with the lure of salaries that are the same month after month. They can offer benefits. Suddenly the real estate business is a lot less risky for licensees. In the emerging gig economy finding skilled brokers is hardly a challenge. With the problem of licensure solved, and therefore with MLS defenses overcome from the inside, assuming one wants to be inside, the question is what will make a new approach to brokerage different — and better — than current competitors.
In the new world of capitalism short- term losses don’t matter. What’s important is growth, market share, perception, consumer satisfaction, lower costs, and rising share value — just look at Uber. Bloomberg reports that for 2016 Uber had revenues of $6.5 billion, a $2.8 billion loss, and yet had nearly $10 billion in cash and credit on hand. In June Uber had an estimated market cap of $68 billion. Name a cab company that can lose nearly $3 billion in a year and survive. Or one that’s worth tens of billions of dollars. If your goal is more transactions and your competitor’s objective is a higher market cap you’re not playing the same game. The traditional values in every profession and industry are now being re-hashed and re-thought so is it far- fetched to imagine someone thinking of a more-efficient marketplace where brokerage costs are cut to the bone? Where “gatekeepers” and “middlemen” slow innovation? Where commission structures and percentages change? Where profits can wait and market caps are soaring? If you think entrepreneurs are not looking at these questions day and night you might as well do business with a dial phone. As John Kennedy told us, “change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future.”
“Coming soon can be an issue from many fronts … More activity and more offers drive up the price, not less activity because the property is held off the market instead of being in the MLS and marketed to many.”
MATTHEW L. WATERCUTTER PRINCIPAL BROKER, HER REALTORS, OHIO
The Ultimate Change According to the National Association of Realtors, members in business for more than 16 years had a median gross income of $78,850 in 2016. That means half earned more and half earned less. “Gross” also means income before business expenses for things like MLS dues, car mileage, and marketing costs. In the end the net is far lower than the gross. These numbers also mean something else: Savvy entrepreneurs with access to hundreds of millions of dollars in
Surely it’s no secret that terms such as “MLS” and “multiple listing system” are not trademarked. New competitors can join or not join existing MLS systems, introduce new concepts, start in a few major metro areas, market like crazy, and in a short time it might be possible to have a major presence. Backed by vast capital resources new players can gain market share by charging less. Not only might new players charge less, given sufficient size they can effectively cause others to charge less as well.
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OCTOBER 2017 | ATTOM DATA SOLUTIONS
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