STEP into an estate agency in small-town America and it is as if the internet had never been invented. Prospective buyers pop by in person to pore over printed floor-plans; fax machines cough up contracts; and viewings are set up by telephone.The internet was supposed to be the great disintermediator. And of all the middlemen it should have wiped out by now, estate agents are among the least popular. This is especially so in America, where realtors, as they are called there, are far more expensive than in other rich countries. They charge sellers around 6% of the value of their homes, typically splitting this fee with agents representing the buyers. Yet most sellers still use them, and websites, like ForSaleByOwner, that offer to put them directly in touch with buyers have had limited success. Last year only 9% of home sales in America were conducted without an agent—down from 13% in 2008.So far the most successful online property firms are “aggregator” websites, which bring together listings from many estate agents, charging them fees for hosting the ads. They are thus a further layer of intermediary, taking the...
from The Economist: Business http://ift.tt/1vR5TCl
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