Letter to Reader's Digest re "Real Estate Ripoff"
January 19, 2007
The Reader's Digest Association, Inc.
Reader's Digest Road
Pleasantville, NY 10570-7000
To the Editor:
Readers' Digest readers are not well-served by Michael Crowley's unfortunate and unfair discussion of the real estate industry (February 2007). Buying or selling a home is usually the biggest decision a family makes, and making informed decisions can save a family thousands of dollars.
One of the most important tools available to consumers are multiple listing services, which are cooperative arrangements among real estate brokers who pool all of their listings to create an inventory of properties for sale in a local market. They are not auction sites like EBay or bulletin boards like Craig's list. Rather, MLSs are private exchanges owned and maintained by brokers -- including discount and limited service brokers. The MLS brings extraordinary efficiency to the process of buying and selling residential property. Before MLSs existed, consumers had to visit every brokerage office in town to be sure of seeing all available properties. All MLS members are treated equally regardless of their business model.
The Internet and information technology have made the real estate transaction more transparent and made more information available to consumers, but it has not diminished the role of the professional. In fact, people who use the Internet to look for a home are more likely to use a professional than those who do not. Every property is unique and can't be marketed like a commodity. Real estate markets are very local and change quickly. Laws and regulations governing real estate are more complicated than ever. Real estate is a business that is truly high tech AND high touch.
Real estate is a fiercely competitive business and today's consumer can choose Realtors® who provide full services or limited services, work at a discount, or provide incentives like rebates. Entrepreneurs are constantly introducing new ideas and new business models, in part because of the efficiencies resulting from the fact that than 90 percent of the residential property for sale in America is on line. America's real estate industry made huge investments in technology to put millions of listings on line. You can't find that in most other nations, even highly developed ones.
In the years to come, competition and innovation will continue to improve the real estate business. Those professionals who do the best job serving consumers will thrive, and homebuyers and sellers will be the beneficiaries.
Sincerely,
Pat Vredevoogd Combs
President
National Association of REALTORS®
