Amazon (not amazing) Real Estate
After living with the Amazon Dash buttons I realized that they are just the latest symptom of Amazon’s slowly spreading disease – profit maximization. The Dash button is an unabashed attempt todisconnect people from the amount of money they are spending. The Dash button isn’t made for you or me – it’s designed by the balance sheet and corporate thinking.”
– Mark Wilson in FastCompany
The “Dash” buttons of real estate are HGTV, Trulia, Zillow and their ilk. They are advertising platforms operating under the guise of providing information and are supported by agent advertising and referral fees. The platforms push “information” to you and the “Dash” button takes you to an agent button you click for more “information.”
What are the risks of using the Dash button approach to home buying? I’ll name a few.
1. By clicking an agent button and requesting information you are asking for “information” from an agent who works for the seller or no one. That’s not opinion. It’s fact. Why would you ask for information from an agent who doesn’t work for you? The agent will attempt to get information from you to help her sell you a home – not help you buy a home – an important distinction.
2. Some agents will claim to be buyer agentsThey can be buyer agents under the law, although I refer to them as fake buyer agents because they are not exclusive buyer agents. The other day I visited a site to search for Shorewood real estate. The site noted 51 listing agents and 51 “buyer agents.” Fifty-one agents claiming to be both, so I think they had to be the same agents or a statistical anomaly. I think they were the same agents. C’mon agents, pick a side.
There is a movement in the real estate industry to create a sense of panic so that you buy quickly. This Dash button approach to home buying means you may end up paying more than you should for a home, or make the wrong purchase for your needs.
Our local real estate MLS recently added for a category “coming to market” which is a home listing, technically not on market, but “coming soon.” The unstated goal is to create panic resulting in a quick sale maybe for more than value. If I were a seller I’d love it. If I were a buyer I’d be concerned.
The National firm Redfin has a “Book It Now” service to allow potential buyers to tour homes on their schedule making it “as easy as making a dinner reservation” online. Again, you will tour the home with an agent you know little about and at best works for no one and at worst works for the seller. Do you see a pattern here?
I used to tell the high school basketball teams I coached, “Be quick but not in a hurry” (attributed to John Wooden). I make the same case to potential homebuyers who work with Homebuyer Associates.
Do we have all the answers? Probably not, but working exclusively for home buyers, (we’ve helped over 1,600 home buyers over the years) we have more experience than any other real estate firm in the 4-county area with the home buying process – and the answers we don’t have we’ll find for you.
I’d like you to understand money. How wisely your money works for you will be directly related to how wisely you select the agent you are going to work with. Simple stated, without a plan you are just being sold something. We don’t sell. If you’d like to have a coffee to discuss your real estate options contact Seamus or me.
Thanks for reading,
Michael D. Holloway
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