about this article in the New York Times, that is. The article has stirred up quite the hornet’s nest of activity in the real estate blogging community, and since everyone seems to be talking about it, now I’m gonna get my two cents in.

Getting straight to the point, I definitely don’t think that internet based companies like Redfin will kill off traditional real estate agents, or even degrade their commission significantly. At least not any time soon. For starters, according to the article, they’ve closed 89 transactions since they went into business. This doesn’t seem like an earth-shattering number to me, considering how many homes are bought and sold here in the US each year, so I’m going to go out on a limb and say that they aren’t the final word in real estate.

What Redfin, and sites like it, are doing is filling a niche. It’s obviously not the lion’s share of the market right now, but there are people out there who feel that they are competent enough to find or sell a home without professional assistance. For people like this, a service that allows you to save money by doing most of the leg work yourself may be just what the doctor ordered. There is, however, still a huge demand for real estate professionals and their services, and I don’t see that changing in the forseeable future.

Why? Two reasons: Time and expertise.

Sure, with the internet, everything is becoming so easy to just do-it-yourself. Everything from trading stocks to booking flights to (gasp!) real estate searches! But real estate is a bit more complicated than finding discount airfare, and dealing in it can be very hard work, especially if you’re not familiar with it. In terms of buyers, not everyone has the time to do all that work that a realtor does to find a home that’s right for them. Furthermore, many people value the expertise of a good agent who can take on the burden of sniffing out appropriate homes, do it quickly and efficiently, and maybe even find a gem which they wouldn’t have looked at otherwise. And for Sellers, the potential time saved, coupled with the financial benefits that can be gained from hiring a real estate professional are tremendous, even moreso than for a buyer.

So the long and the short of it is, traditional real estate agents shouldn’t fret. Just keep doing what you do best and make the buying and selling process as smooth and advantageous to your clients as possible. People vote with their wallets, and right now, they seem to be saying that they will pay for that kind of professional service. And if they need help finding one of these professionals, we’re more than happy to lend a hand!

-Tony Floriani