[shaunrussell]

Replacing real estate agents and brokers.

Most of the value they provide can be replaced by (or already is) technology. The only thing keeping them afloat is regulation.

[mydigitalself]

People are trying to do this in the UK with businesses like Purple Bricks.

Given the aggregators exist (in the UK, Zoopla & RightMove are our Zillow) that's where all the eyeballs are and how people find properties. You can then list your own property there.

Before I started Gitter, I nearly went into exactly this space, but there are a few negatives:

1. People are generally bad at sales 2. People are generally bad at negotiating 3. People are generally afraid of complex paperwork

Sure, the system can help with these things and maybe nobody has nailed this yet because there are a few companies trying in this space and nobody seems to be coming out on top.

[davidlee1435]

Opendoor seems promising- company buys houses from sellers to sell to buyers. Guarantee of a sale seems more important than maximizing return, so they've experienced success in quite a few markets in the Southwest

[joeax]

Disrupting that industry would be tough. Zillow came close, but the industry in general is so protective that anything perceived as a minor threat is blackballed. My bro-in-law RE agent bashes Zillow all the time.

I think baby steps are essential. A good first step is a broker-licensed startup with self-serve/AI agents. Why do I need an agent to look at houses when I can just find a house myself? The listing side can remote-unlock a house for me to look at. The buyer then keeps most of the commission.

[omarchowdhury]

Would the unique value proposition for the buyer to use this new service be that they would get a rebate on purchasing this house through this new service?