There is a very good article on Yahoo Finance on real estate agents being the next to go obsolete. New interim rules introduced by the Canadian Real Estate Association allow members to offer basic services, including only posting properties on the mls.ca - leaving the seller to show the property, field offers and close the deal may be a step in the "we don't need you anymore" direction.
I'll be the first to say that I don't like paying such high commissions for our sales. We've been thinking of listing with a flat rate brokerage recently too. The things I worry about are the quality of marketing being done and the response from the buyers representative when they notice our Realtor is flat rate - who will pay them and how much?
An sad example- the owner of one of the first discount real estate agency received death threats from other Realtors. Their fear of what the flat rate /discount fee trend would mean for the future of their livelihoods led to an outburst of dangerous irrationality.
There is a big change coming in the way people sell houses. For me having a savvy Realtor frees up my time so I can work on other things. However, if a savvy Realtor realizes that serving many cheaply is better that serving a few at a higher rate then I know who I'm listing with. As with any service provider I would ask for references and see what kind of work the Realtor you're looking to hire has done.
At any rate the most important thing is a whole new world of options is coming to the Canadian real estate market and sellers will be saving a lot of money.
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