David Barr's Sarasota and Venice Real Estate Blog

This is a follow up to my previous blog about buyer's agents:  http://blog.davidbarrhomes.com/2014/03/case-study-why-experienced-buyers-agent.html The real estate world is always changing, but sometimes the changes can be confusing for prospective home buyers. There are three competing business models nationally which are shaping how consumers buy and sell real estate: 1) Zillow and Trulia:  Non-licensed: what we in the industry call "portals".  They exist to generate visits to their websites and sell advertising. Participating agents pay to be featured in certain geographical areas; 2) Traditional brokerages, such as Re/Max and Keller Williams with their national real estate sites, where buyers can search for homes and get funneled to one of the company's featured agents; 3) Redfin and Movoto:  Licensed brokers, but without physical brick and mortar presence in local markets.  These companies partner with established local agents when a home buyer or s...

Touring several properties today in Sarasota with out of town buyers presented a perfect case study in how an experienced buyer's agent is indispensable. Despite the variety of real estate sites and online tools to assist buyers, nothing replaces the local knowledge of a Realtor.  The buyers I was with today had a good general knowledge of the area and selected a few properties to tour.  I threw in a few suggestions, based on experience, to the tour list for properties in communities the buyers were not aware of. It's one thing to look at photos, square footage, and price, from a website, but this alone does not convey the "feel" of the community.  The customers I was with today were very satisfied that the property suggestions I had made resulted in an afternoon well spent.