One result is an “unbundling” of traditional one-size-fits-all real estate services for consumers who want more control over real estate transactions and their associated costs. If you’re willing to take on some tasks traditionally performed by agents and brokers, you could receive lower transaction costs. You might benefit from following emerging alternatives:

Fee-for-services

“Consumers want assistance from real estate professionals, but don’t want to pay for it in form of traditional commissions,” says a la Carte real estate Pioneer Julie Garton-Good. Garton-Good has been preaching fee-for-services gospel for more than 20 years. As name implies, you can choose which tasks you feel comfortable performing and hire qualified real estate professionals to do rest. Many traditional real estate brokerages are beginning to offer a more menu-based service plan. For example, you may not mind listing your home and holding open houses, but you may want assistance with contracts and closings.

One-stop shopping

In response to dwindling margins and rising costs of technology and lead generation, some real estate companies are attempting to combine traditional and Web-based services to provide consumers a single source for all their real estate needs. One-stop shopping sites generally provide or partner with lenders, insurers, title companies, real estate attorneys and others to facilitate all aspects of buying and selling. In addition, some sites are adding home-improvement and related services to stay in touch with consumers between buying and selling transactions.

Web-based discounters

Although many Web-based real estate companies flamed out in dotcom era, scores of new companies have emerged to take their place. By offering targeted services such as flat-fee MLS listings, buyer rebates and AVM tools, these sites are appealing to independent buyers and sellers who prefer to take a more active role in transactions. In addition to listings, some sites also offer how-to articles and advice for those who choose to go it alone. Tradition + technology + turbulence = opportunities

So, given trends, changes and ongoing industry evolution, what can independent buyers, sellers and investors expect in this new era of real estate?

• The Web and other technologies will continue to evolve and transform $1.3 trillion real-estate industry. Technology will continue to reduce time, expense and complexity of manual processes, and increasingly sophisticated search and valuation tools will play a more strategic role.

• Free and low-cost real estate resources will continue to be available and even multiply on Web. In real estate, knowledge truly is power. Consumers will try to use their power to gain more control of real estate process and subsequently expect to be compensated in form of reduced and fee-for-service commissions.

• The role of traditional real estate brokerages will evolve as Web-enabled consumers become more knowledgeable. This likely will trigger some restructuring and consolidation of traditional brokerages, but will also drive development of innovative new practices targeting online and empowered consumers. Real estate professionals will focus more on promoting their local knowledge and industry expertise, while consumers will perform some buying and selling tasks on their own.

• Traditional real estate commissions and profitability levels will continue to face downward pressure from various sources. The future will be profitable for brokerages that are able to extend their core expertise of neighborhood and industry knowledge into flexible new consumer-centric offerings.

• The traditional high-touch, full-service real estate agency is evolving, not disappearing. Real estate professionals who provide exceptional service and value to their customers will always be in demand.

You now can find more real estate knowledge, tools and resources on Web than ever before, enabling you to buy and sell with increased confidence. For real estate professionals, reinventing industry means making hard decisions, changing processes and managing new opportunities. But for consumers, reinvention in real estate is a winner, hands-down. Homekeys is coming soon. Be sure to look for us on Web at http://www.homekeys.net Feedback, ideas or input? We would like to hear from you! E-mail us at: info@homekeys.net

The art of AVMs

The art portion of estimating value begins with understanding how comparable sales and active listings compare to property being evaluated. Since they are nearby, it’s a good idea to drive by comparable sales and listed properties to see how they compare. To help you stay organized, you may want to use a buyer checklist when visiting properties.

After researching comparable sales and active listings, it’s time for personal touch. Sellers know their own property and neighborhood better than anyone, so they are able to adjust base values according to individual property characteristics. Buyers can make similar adjustments as they visit properties to help formulate an asking price.

Depending on your research, a “market adjustment” may be warranted. If active listings are priced higher than your base estimated value, an upward adjustment may be appropriate. If prices are lower, a downward adjustment might be in order.

Finally, ValueKey enables buyers and sellers to make other value adjustments based on individual property characteristics and condition. Based on a seller’s knowledge or a buyer’s research, appropriate value adjustments can help both parties arrive at a fair selling price.

And though no property valuation system is perfect, AVMs can provide objective valuation estimates quickly and inexpensively, and technology is improving all time. As AVM technology continues to evolve and improve, it may prove to be a key to less-stress, more enlightened real estate transactions in future.

Learn more at http://www.homekeys.net