Original title: Why are real estate agencies no longer popular?
Since the beginning of this year, topics related to “More and more homeowners choose to sell their houses by themselves” have become hot searches. On multiple social platforms, some owners expressed that they did not want to go through a real estate agency and chose to sell their houses directly themselves. Is the real estate agency that once had a booming business really no longer "good"?
Information, like capital and land, is also an important factor of production. Intermediaries often make money by relying on poor information. Economics believes that information asymmetry means that the information possessed by the parties in a market transaction is unequal, and one party does not fully understand the other party. Real estate agents provide services to buyers and sellers through the market supply and demand information they have.
In the past few years, there were many steps and a long cycle from applying for online visas, paying taxes and fees, applying for loans, to officially transferring ownership, and finally getting the house ownership certificate. Any flaw in any link would affect the normal transaction, so home buyers often need professional help. The intermediary provides protection.
Some people think that from an economic point of view, the middlemen make the price difference, and it is the consumers who benefit. Those who hold this view often overlook a premise: full competition among intermediaries is needed. However, this may not be the case in reality. Some real estate agencies have formed monopoly advantages and disrupted the orderly competition in the market.
Not only that, information asymmetry in the real estate market can easily breed chaos in the industry: intermediary companies monopolize housing resources and charge high fees, illegally collect customer information, and use false transaction data to interfere with normal order, etc., which have brought many adverse effects to the market.
Information asymmetry also has many adverse effects on buyers and sellers. For example, transaction costs remain high. Taking Beijing as an example, a leading real estate agency's fee standard has been reduced to 2%, which is borne by both buyers and sellers. For a house priced at 10 million yuan, the agency fee alone reaches 200,000 yuan. For example, trading risks occur from time to time. Real estate transactions involve names, mobile phone numbers, bank card numbers, ID cards, real estate certificates and other information, which may cause losses once leaked.
Today, things are very different. The supply and demand relationship in the housing market has changed, competition for housing has become more intense, and home buyers have more choices. Many places have simplified the house purchase process, and many cities have implemented "same-day application and same-day transfer" for second-hand house transactions. In this case, the mentality of buyers and sellers has also undergone subtle changes.
"How to transfer ownership without an intermediary?" "House transfer registration procedures have been simplified again! Do you still need an intermediary for house sales?" These hot posts on the Internet reflect a reality: real estate agencies are really not as popular as they used to be.
In addition to changes in market conditions, there is another important reason: the cost of information circulation has become lower. The new round of information revolution triggered by the Internet has significantly reduced the circulation link, making it a reality for production to directly connect with consumption. With the rise of social media in recent years, the interactivity, timeliness and accuracy of information dissemination have been greatly improved, further breaking the time and space barriers of circulation, improving circulation efficiency and reducing communication costs.
As the saying goes: "If you don't understand business, you won't be able to do business." The so-called business knowledge is nothing more than market conditions, business strategies, pricing mechanisms, service quality, customer psychology, etc. Whether you are a business or an individual, you can achieve great results by following the trend. From extensive development to standardized operations, along with the in-depth adjustment of the property market, real estate agencies will face a new round of reshuffle. How to accurately grasp user needs, improve service quality with the times, and provide truly cost-effective and professional services is a topic that real estate agencies must face head-on. (Author: Guo Cunju Source: Economic Daily)