Technology Forging New Trends in Real Estate - Video

Some of the experts are saying that the changes brought by technology are heralding some new trends in the real estate and mortgage industry.



One trend boosted by Money Magazine is that you will be able to sell your home yourself much more easily because of the ability to place your home's listing on numerous websites that tout for sale by owner (FSBO) properties. Money claims that you will be able to avoid paying a listing real estate commission this way, paying only the selling agent's fee.

That may work for a handful of home sellers who already know the ropes of selling their home. But for the majority of home sellers, a qualified listing agent is a necessity, not a luxury--especially in a slow or declining market.

Despite the often touted perception that the job is easy, the work that a listing agent must do to sell a home is remarkably extensive. The number of real estate agents that fail as Realtors is far greater than the number that thrive, and that is because it is a very competitive and challenging field.

Money's idea that the number of mortgage brokers will shrink is also incorrect, because the job is much more labor intensive than it was just one year ago.

Underwriters are requiring far greater documentation than they used to. The idea that a home buyer could do it himself online is overrated. Some will be able to do so, but the vast majority will still need a loan officer to get it done right.

The paper work required on a mortgage is immense. The idea that most folks will be able to do it themselves is naive.

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Bob Roscoe, Mortgage Marketing Associates, Minneapolis, Minnesota
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