To all the agents in the house,
On Friday, we'll be releasing the annual RealTrends 1000, the most respected ranking of real estate agents in the country. To me, the most fascinating part of the RT 1000 is learning about all the different ways to become a top agent.
Today, let's talk about one of the more controversial methods.
Ralph Harvey is one of America's top agents by transaction sides and sales volume. If you can believe it, Harvey was the listing agent for 3,253 home sellers (!) in the U.S. in 2021. That's about nine sellers a day.
"Some love us. Some hate us. Some tolerate us. Some talk dirt to us," Harvey said about his company, List WithFreedom.com, a Boynton Beach, Florida-based real estate brokerage.
You won't find Harvey or other "MLS only" agents scheduling showings or negotiating with a buyer's agent. He is simply entering the home on the local MLS.
"MLS only" agents, as Steve Murray, senior advisor at RealTrends, described them, have been around for decades. Per research Murray did for the Federal Trade Commission, they represent just 2% of all real estate listing agents in the country.
Still, recent developments in software let MLS-only agents scale in a way they haven't before, Murray said. That often creates tension with traditional agents.
"The truth is that we're helping agents," Harvey told HW Media Senior Reporter Matthew Blake. "We are helping to preserve the industry from its inevitable death."
Agents, I'd like to hear from you – what do you think about these so-called "MLS only" agents? Are they as valuable as Harvey says? How would you describe your interactions with them? Email me at james@hwmedia.com.
James Kleimann
Managing Editor, HW Media
.png?width=1116&upscale=true&name=970x250-original%20(1).png)
-1.jpg?width=1116&upscale=true&name=970x250%20(4)-1.jpg)
EmoticonEmoticon