Amazon poised to debut real estate referral service

Update: Amazon has removed the "Hire a Realtor" placeholder page referenced in this article since it published. Amazon appears to be preparing to offer consumers the option to hire real estate agents through its professional services marketplace, likely in exchange for referral fees. The service would mark the entry of yet another internet behemoth into the real estate marketing space, joining Facebook and Google as a potential source of business for agents. Amazon has a placeholder webpage that offers users the option to "Hire a Realtor." The page is indexed in Amazon's Home and Business Services section, a vendor marketplace that the company has gradually rolled out over the last two years. If the marketplace works for agents like it does for other professionals, then agents would pay referral fees to Amazon in exchange for new business. Amazon did not respond to a request for comment. Home inspectors are among the many vendors that can get business through Amazon's...