Last month I wrote a post called "Realtors Running Scared" and in it I basically said that I saw the need for realtors diminishing, at least from the seller’s standpoint.  Today the New York Times has an interesting article that features two new services that should cause more than a few realtors to change their underwear. From the article:

One site, Zillow.com,
which will be introduced today, will help consumers obtain more
accurate real estate sales information — to the consternation of some
real estate agents.

A smaller site, Redfin.com,
introduced an unusual new service last week that might be even more
disruptive to the real estate industry: the feature automates the
process of bidding on a house online.

Of the two I find Zillow more interesting and much more of an imminent threat to realtors.  As I said in my first post I think that realtors’ real value is in the matchmaking process (i.e. helping buyers find the right house).  I honestly think the only real value they have traditionally offered sellers is a place on the MLS, and with sites like Zillow the MLS is quickly going to lose market dominance if it hasn’t already.

On the other hand buying a house is a highly stressful and intimate affair.  I don’t see bidding for houses online as a today or tomorrow proposition so I’m not real big on Redfin’s prospects, at least as I understand what they’re trying to do.  I’ll say it again: realtors that want to thrive should focus on offering a high-touch service to buyers and move away from worrying about listings.  They should also be open to accepting lower commissions from sellers because in the very near future that will probably be their only option.  Heck they might even want to move away from the commission model to a service fee model, although I have no idea if that’s allowed under existing regulations.  It would be worth looking into though.