It's been a little while since I've posted here. There's been a lot of stuff happening lately, some good, a lot of it bad. I won't get into it, but needless to say, it's been a rough time for me. Fortunately, many other professionals in the industry have come out and lent some level of support to me. I really appreciate everything that they have done. It hasn't affected my work, so there's nothing to worry about there.

The Toronto Star recently did another article about flat rate real estate agents. Frequent readers of this blog (if any), will know that I've previously voiced my opinion of this matter, and I remain of the view that it severely cheapens the role of real estate agents.

Perhaps this is indicative of a trend in society. MSN has posted an article about how customer service is disappearing as more "self-serve" solutions are being implemented. Customers are simply accepting poor service in the way of lower prices. Customers are simply becoming so fed up with poor service that they instead would prefer to do it themselves. For real estate agents, this means that sellers and buyers will put aside service if it means savings in their pocket.

I find this a dangerous trend in that it may make the real estate market worse. Without a dedicated agent who is adequately compensated, buyers and sellers may have a distorted view of the marketplace, and prices may fluctuate greatly, giving appraisers a difficult time obtaining comparables, since some houses may sell for much more than other houses on the same street. The lack of a consistent appraisal may open the door to questionable borrowing practices, leading to losses for mortgage lenders.

So what does that mean to you? Well, it means that in order to recuperate those losses, the banks will have much more strict guidelines and higher rates for legitimate borrowers. That means that it may be more difficult for you to obtain a mortgage, and even if you do obtain one, the rate will be higher.

And you can thank the "bargain hunters" for that.

        

 

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