Many of your competitors are not worried when they are not civil towards you. I know this post is a sign of sincerity, but many may find weakness where you want clarity. In this business, weakness will be exploited.

Don’t shirk from your instincts – if you think that the traditional R/E model holds similarities to Big Oil and tobacco, make your point and stand by it.

Brian’s comment about making inroads may mask the reason for any improvement of consumer perception of the industry – perhaps some of the progress has been relentless hounding of critics. When the critical voices are silenced, one-by-one, methodically and remorselessly, consumers are lulled into acceptance. That does not mean that service or value has improved.

When you back down, people will question your next statement, and the ones that follow. “Did he really mean that? Will he apologize and repudiate his own comments?” And that, Glenn, will undermine all that you seek to achieve.

If Phil would pay attention to what the ?average consumer? is saying about realtor?s he would hear how unhappy we are with the level of service ?dedicated, full service? agents are providing. Quite the opposite of what he suggests.

As a successful and happy customer of Redfin I think most people miss a salient point, it’s not just about the money, it is about the service and transparency you provide in the market. BR (before Redfin) I didn?t have free access to all the market data and I was often intimidated by agents when I asked a lot of questions. Now everything I need, and then some, is at the tips of my fingers. How can anyone think more information in the hands of consumers is a bad thing? Sure the money is nice but information is power and I for one am glad agents are no longer able to hoard it.

Matt

The reason I should apologize to my colleagues in the industry is that they are my colleagues, and we have to work together; I wish I had been more civil. My twin brother also thinks it is a waste of energy.

I’m a little surprised by the lengthy apology, which strikes me as half unnecessary and half misplaced. The part that’s misplaced is that the difficulty with the “Big Oil” or “Big Tobacco” analogy is that the nature of the products in question are fundamentally different, which implies different ethical issues with the salespeople and executives in those industries. The problem with Oil and Tobacco is that the products are toxic — thus when their executives lie, they lie (inter alia) to cover up the toxicity of their products.

That’s not true of real estate executives, who do not hawk toxic products. Their lies are simply about defending a long-time pricing tradition around which their industry has been organized for decades. This is also why you’ll do business with them — unlike, say, an ethical doctor with Philip Morris.

The reason the apology is half unnecessary is that your analogy is at least right on the money when it comes to pointing out the lack of ethics, greed, and unprofessionalism that pervades the industry. Why should you apologize to those people?

Nils

P.S. I’m amazed that you hold the comments open on your blog — what with your competitors flaming, and guys like Phil trying to claim that the standardized services that realtors provide really deserve to have effectively doubled in price over the last decade, just because real estate prices have. Does anyone really think that realtors in provide five times as much value when they sell a house in San Francisco as when they sell the equivalent in Bakersfield?

And Brian, thanks for your kind wishes. Our argument has been that Redfin did not create the chaos and fear that you describe. Over the past year, we have operated in two markets, but Harris and WSJ polls conducted last year found nationwide consumer anxiety.

John, thanks for your support. Some agents are good, others are not, but the way the industry regulates itself and the way agents are paid do not always encourage the best behavior.

I’m going to reprint my comments I made on Bloodhound Blog:

“I just realized when I read that ?apology? that Redfin preys upon the glaring weakness of a real estate transaction; emotion.

Good Realtors know how to keep a client from getting emotional. Clients ARE emotional, scared, hurt, or gleeful when they go through this process. It?s hard because most only own buy (or sell) a property 2-3 times in their lifetime. The xenophobia a client has is exacerbated when an under-trained, emotional wreck of an agent is involved.

We?ve made TREMENDOUS inroads these past 5-10 years by upgrading the quality of agent in the industry. The stakes are high enough to attract full-time professionals who build solid practices rather than the part-time, highly-emotional licensees.

I think Redfin wants to take us back to the old days of chaos and fear. This time, they turn the fear/anger on the Realtor for ?ripping off? the consumer. They mask themselves in the cloak of ?consumer advocacy? and deliberately muddy up the waters by inciting a riot.

Give your broker the finger, huh? That crap might work on a Jim Rome show when discussing who the Cardinals coach should be but that is where it should stay. An industry that is moving towards professionalism has no room for the chaos purveyors.”

I certainly hope your metanoia is genuine, Glenn. This industry has a place for Redfin. As you so eloquently put it, it is perfect for “geeks with really nice houses”. Maybe you could focus on being the absolute best service offering for that niche and leave the adolescent antics to the Jim Rome show.

I, for one, am hoping you succeed.

Real estate agents, such as the one who commented above, may think they are only out to “help a client”, not make a buck, by why or why do so many buyers and sellers think otherwise? Why do so many of them think they’re being taken for a ride?

He may be a “true professional”; I consider myself one, too. Yet, to ignore the fact that many real estate agents are driven by greed and personal benefit is to ignore the reality of the situation.