In 1997, some real estate professionals lamented that real estate brokerage companies may eventually push real estate agents out of business. The bigger companies have forced real estate agents out of business. They have helped make some changes in the industry.

Image credit: Stateland Brown via ActiveRain

Today, it is popular to have pay for a fee for service with a real estate brokerage firm. Many real estate firms will offer special packages, where sellers can pay for only the services they want. They offer lower commission fees than what individual real estate agents may charge. These bigger companies have changed the model for real estate that many sellers are used to seeing. This is not the only change these real estate companies have helped lead. Here are a few ways brokerage companies have changed the real estate field.

Banks and title companies have entered the real estate brokerage field

Thanks to laws that declare a real estate brokerage company’s employee relocation, management of real estate and brokerage of real estate as financial activities, banks and title companies can manage these. Since major banking companies have entered the real estate industry, you can expect to continue to see companies such as Wells Fargo, Countryside, Chase, and Bank of America serving as mortgage loan lenders.

Brokerage companies are online

Back in 2000, the Internet was only beginning to be a popular place for Internet brokerage companies to do business. Some companies failed; others flourished. These real estate companies are many on the Internet, so there is a variety for customers to choose.

Changing how people view brokerage companies

Brokerage companies are changing how real estate is being sold. They may have broke the model for selling by offering customers great freedom to choose exactly what they want. Many brokers offer an al et carte system, where customers pay only for the services that they want and use. This model makes it cheaper for the sellers to get their property sold and they pay less in commission costs. A broker can charge one to 1.5 percent to a traditional real estate agent’s five to six percent closing cost fee. As these large firms continue to offer serve as both an agent and a seller and offer cheap options to sellers, traditional real estate agents may have to rethink some of their strategies. A real estate agent cannot compete if they cannot offer comparable services at similar prices.