The cloud.
It is one of the hottest trends in the information technology field and while hard to describe it has some really cool attributes that will make it a wave of the future. So it shouldn’t any surprise that someone has created Web site that makes real estate agents’ obsolete.
Do you need to hire a real estate agent?
There are always those that will answer “no” to that question and when money is thought to be made there will always be those stepping up to the plate.
One of the latest is homingCloud which is promising to be that Garden of Eden where home buyers can post what they want and sellers can post what they have … and magically they have a deal.
Isn’t that a wonderful plan. You can even check it out in this video.
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Now, I’m always the first to give props when someone has a good idea … and this has some very intriguing pieces to it. The idea that you would be able to post that you’re selling a home; while a buyer would also post what they are looking for; and the two pieces will connect like two pieces in that great jigsaw puzzle.
Real estate can seem like a giant jigsaw puzzle with everything needing to fit together just right. (photo by Andrzej Gdula/sxc)
The idea is nearly genius in its simplicity. It is akin to the old “posting” board at the grocery store where all the cards go on the billboard with the tear-off phone number. Only, this time it is done online.
Wouldn’t That Be Great
I love when a plan comes together. However, if it really is this easy — wouldn’t we have been using that community billboard for the last half-century? Don’t get me wrong, it can work and I’m sure it has worked. But this sounds very similar to CraigsList — and that’s revolutioned real estate hasn’t it? Sorry, it was the “flavor of the month” a few years back, and the cloud is just today’s soup de jour.
So What Are You Saying About My House?
I’m saying, that there are always alternative ways to complete your real estate transaction beyond using a traditional brokerage. And you should examine them all and evaluate them for what they are — and make the best decision for you.
Of course, as a full-service real estate agent, I’m biased towards what Ohio Home Team and what we can do for you. But don’t take my word for it, find out for yourself.
FIrst , thanks for your feedback. While Craigslist and homingCloud have similarities, homingCloud as a “billboard” surpasses Craigs in many ways. Posting what a person has or want is standardized and detail oriented, you can actually search for more detailed criteria — like a fireplace or a view. With maps, photos and videos, search and matching is even more robust and efficient. On homingCloud, you can search by street, on Craigs it’s more disorganized. On homingCloud, a private messaging system and dashboard keeps track of all your housing posts, both “wants” and “haves” and organizes your contacts and messages. In addition, community.homingCloud.com allows forums and groups to form, so buyers, sellers, agents and anyone assisting in the real estate transaction can share, meetup and ultimately connect. I believe that there is a role for the broker and real estate agent in helping the buyers and sellers with the actual transaction, after matches are made online directly between buyer and seller on a site like homingCloud. The internet has made it possible for individuals to share about what they have and want thru “posts,” no need for the MLS or aggregator sites like Zillow. In my view, the “information” market can, and should be separate from the “real estate transaction (professional) services” market.
Tina,
Thanks for the comment and the well-thought out points. I’m all for evolving models of transactions and doing business in ways that are outside of the “MLS books.”
I can see that homingCloud is much more specfic and offers better chances to find the right house than Craigs. My concern – and the reason for the comparison – is how do you regulate those that are using the service. Two big problems face Craigs right now in the real estate market …
1. information overload.
2. spam / fake buyers/sellers.
Theoretically, the segment issue with housingCloud should keep information overload to a minimum.
But the second is the biggest challenge. Does homingCloud have a plan in place to charge buyers/sellers to list? Something that would keep this action to a minimum?
I agree that the information market is seperate from the transaction services market, however we both know that the concern of many agents is that if buyer A finds house with Seller B then why would they need me?
Hey again Toby,
It is easy enough to add e-commerce to the site and charge to post, and will do so once the site has enough traction. Yes I agree, paying will keep the less serious off the site. But for the current year at least, I think I need to remove all barriers to trying the site. In any case, it will be a small amount per post– hopefully around $5. In addition I plan monetize the site by adding services/professional providers the opportunity to post and charge them a subscription. Ad revenues and premium posting is also a possibility. I think that many people will need the help of agents to navigate the transaction, from inspections, to insurance…, to finding a lawyer. Brokers/agents have an important role, I just think that tying their fee to the success of the transaction is not the right way to price the service, and is challenged as more and more people use the internet and can find and match up online with a platform with user generated information.