Broker Value - Selling the Big Apple

One thing an online database can never give is a broker's true value: we have seen the apartments, neighborhoods, buildings in person (sometimes repeatedly) and we have connections within the community/industry - - something the internet can never replace. If a broker/agent doesn't know the market first hand, doesn't support the brokerage community and participate, they will be surpassed. FYI - I... [more]

One thing an online database can never give is a broker's true value: we have seen the apartments, neighborhoods, buildings in person (sometimes repeatedly) and we have connections within the community/industry - - something the internet can never replace. If a broker/agent doesn't know the market first hand, doesn't support the brokerage community and participate, they will be surpassed. FYI - I am not discounting open access at all with the above statement. It is vital and needs to work in tandem with broker expertise. Let's go NYC Real Estate MLS! (90-95% of all sales listings are co-broked as per NAR). We need you. Sifting through at least 5 databases for listings truly is inefficient, inaccurate and not in the best interest of serving our clients. Each database (brokerage as well as public) are not accurate due to overwhelmed/lazy listings departments and brokers, firm sabotage, broker sabotage, ancient technology, brokers intentionally not co-broking, fear, arrogance, alliances, systems integration into an MLS is just damn complicated to execute... You find one listing in only one database, then one listing in 3 databases, then one listing in all of them, then one listing is updated on only one database, then not on the rest, then one listing's photos are incorrect on 2 out 5, then the description of two listings is right on 4 out of 5, and so on - Remember though, I always find it eventually with digging and vetting it. Albeit, there is a flyspeck percentage of open sales listings (not speaking on rental market). There are a myriad of ways a sale listing can show up inaccurate. Information gatekeepers just like traditional print advertising is dead. Transparent Data and Access is the new Market Share. I really hope the real estate industry can wake up and remember that alienating the customer is finally going to bite it in the ass. Knowledge is power and it goes both ways. [less]