REALESTATE'S NEW REALITY

摘要

It's pretty cleay that the in-ternet is changing how people look for new homes. These days, more than 70% of home buyers shop online before inking a deal, up from 41% in 2001. Little wonder. With a few mouse clicks, up pop photos and floor plans for a $1 million estate in St. Petersburg or a $100,000 condo in St. Louis. What's less obvious is how all these Web-surfing home buyers are changing the real estate industry. With a flood of data at their fingertips, they're becoming savvier and starting to chip away at the 6% commission that real estate brokers collect on each home sold. For example, by using the Web to cut costs, upstart zipRealty Inc. can refund 20% of its commission back to buyers and 25% to sellers.