Why Real Estate Agents Have Websites
Despite common public perceptions, no real estate agent's web site is ever put out there simply as a public service. We are business people. We are not charities, and we are not public utilities or public servants. That should not come as a surprise. We are also not salaried or hourly employees of a brokerage. Real eatate commissions, generally paid by home sellers, and only upon a successful closing, is the only way we have to support our families and ourselves.
Real estate agents like us, who are truly serious about supporting their own client's real estate information and home search needs, will have, and must have, a strong web site with an advanced home search capability, and we invest lots of time and money to provide those capabilities for our clients. We also try to educate our own clients that every agent's web site is out there for two reasons: 1) to generate leads and new business and 2) to support that agent's own paying clients. So our clients should only use our websites for their home searches, and should never go to any other real estate site. That's how we stay in business.
REColorado.com, the public web site of our local MLS, and Realtor.com, the public website of the National Association of Realtors, are also not there as a public service. They exist primarily to get consumers to call the listing agents directly, which is absolutely the worst thing a consumer can ever do, because they will sometimes give up their rights to personal representation on that property, and will often disclose confidential information to the listing agent about their financial situation or motivations, which compromises their negotiating position with the sellers.
When over 80% of home buyers use the internet to search for homes these days, cheap and lazy real estate agents, who do not have their own websites and who rely on their clients using other websites for their home searches, are not servicing their client's needs to the best of their abilities. If a real estate agent is not willing or able to invest their own time and money in the internet technologies needed to support their own clients, and are therefore incapable of providing a strong home search website for their client's use, they shouldn't even be in the business these days, Unfortunately, those of us who do invest the time and money in our websites will always be in the position of picking up the slack for those who don't.
If you are truly serious about your home search and real estate needs, and you are NOT working with another Denver area real estate agent or brokerage, and you want to work with an experienced team of agents who are committed to providing their clients with the most advanced online real estate tools in the market today, then you are invited to register for and try out our Advanced Home Search .