Buyers and sellers don'tBuyers and sellers don't need agents to help them find each other. Technology has enabled them to do that mostly without professional real estate agents. If your view of an agent is that of "house finder", or "buyer finder", then you'd see no value there.
But that would be a short sighted view of what a good agent could do for you.
The main reason to hire a Realtor is for representation - yes, marketing if you're a seller, but for both buyer and seller, professional guidance and negotiation so that you can get the best price and terms possible for the market and house involved.
For buyers, your agent can "issue spot" (give you a heads up on the red flags of properties or areas you may be considering), provide you ways to investigate issues, suggest approaches, explain possible consequences, etc. For instance, a good agent will not just unlock the door to the home you're going to see, but will point out to you any issues such as cupped hardwood floors, sagging ceilings, poor grading - and why all those things matter.
For sellers, a good agent can provide you objective feedback (on your home's condition, what can be done to increase marketability, etc.) to best position your home to sell and can guide you through the process of attracting the buyer who will give you the best price and terms for you home.
For both, the knowledgeable, dilligent agent will help you to understand the disclosures, the contract and the sales process and will negotiate for you to get you the best price and terms possible to help you to acheive what you want to acheive (sell or buy). That good agent will give you data on the market conditions, recent comps and so on and will help you to make sense of it. (Having information is not the same thing as having knowledge.) Your agent will navigate trouble shoot anything that might arise in escrow. (Sometimes selling the house isn't the challenge, but closing it.)
An experienced, careful, good agent will not just make buying or selling easier, but guide you, protect your interests, inform you, and help you to maximize your position in the transaction and minimize the chance that problems will creep up after you close escrow. On top of all that, agents often work closely with folks who may be very emotional (buying and selling is far more than just a straight business transaction and can be complicated by death, divorce, job loss, relocation, etc.). Just like most folks will opt to hire an attorney to assist them with a will & trust rather than get a do-it-yourself kit from an office supply company, most folks realize that buying and selling real estate is very complex and includes complicated paperwork (contracts, disclosures, closing papers), issues that may need to be spotted in the property itself, professionals who may need to be called in to help with particular problems or surprises, as well as the myriad of small details that need to be handled to get the transaction to closing.
While there will always be a reason for some folks to sell on their own or with very limited assistance, the vast majority of real estate transactions are involved enough that buyers and sellers are greatly benefitted by professional real estate representation.
In Silicon Valley, a hugeIn Silicon Valley, a huge number of folks who'd lost their high tech jobs with the dot com bust flooded into real estate sales and lending. Many of them viewed this as fast, easy money and did not approach their new careers with professionalism in mind. As the tech jobs have returned to the valley, and as the real estate market has made it more challenging to make a living, these people moved back into high tech. It's for the best.
I agree that older agents will want to retire now. First of all, that's true because of market conditions, but also it's true because they may not be comfortable with web marketing, the importance of email and what is technologically necessary now (and will be more and more in the future). It's a lot of work to shift into this new gear.
Whether new or seasoned, I hope the deadbeat agents who were just in it for a quick buck "exit stage right". These are the folks who give minimal effort in every market and put their best interests, rather than the clients', first. When I hear that our ranks are thinning, I think "good" too, because I'm hoping that these type of agents are on their way out.
Mary Pope-Handy
Keller Williams
