A bad market is not the only concern for modern Realtors. A far more menacing threat is about to make sweeping changes in the industry. It's called Web 2.0 and it is sure to be the downfall of those who deny its impact and riches to those who learn to use it to their advantage. The very nature of the Real Estate industry is about to change. Who will come out on top is yet to be seen.

Many industries have already been hit hard by changes in information distribution caused by the Internet. The music and movie industry stood idly by while the likes of Napster devastated their profits. Newspapers thought nothing of Craig's List until it was too late. After realizing that they were losing millions in advertising revenues they tried to jump on the bandwagon but were too far behind to ever have hope of catching up. They couldn't match the already huge user base with any amount of advertising. Will the Real Estate industry fall prey next? The signs say yes. Any information based industry is at jeopardy and the Real Estate industry appears to be the next victim.

There is a general principle at work here…and once one grasps its meaning the future becomes evident. In old school thought the idea was that information held tightly was valuable. Possessing the information put a business in a power position. In Real Estate, of course, this was the MLS. The Realtors had the information and the buyers had to come to them to find the right house. If you're in the industry you know that standard practice was to give out as little information as possible to try to draw in the buyer. In today’s world that tactic spells disaster. The information is becoming more and more readily available and buyers won't stand for the old tactics. They will simply and easily go to whoever will give out the information. In the end, whoever packages the information best will be the victor.

A quick look around the Internet will reveal that technologies are nearing a point where a buyer can simply shop online for a house. A host of Web 2.0 websites are working hard at becoming efficient packagers of information. Zillow became one of the first to give buyers and sellers quick estimates of Real Estate value. While the accuracy wasn't always right on the concept was. They were quickly followed by Real Estate ABC who took the same concept and enhanced it. Trulia is one to really watch; they are attempting to scrape the internet for Real Estate listing information and put it all together in one package. Their technology is fast growing and if they really get it together they will be even more of a major player than they already are. Fisbos is using Craig’s List and it is quickly becoming a strong Real Estate listing site. Even others, such as Housing Maps are scraping the Craig’s List data and creating mashups to package the information in ever better formats for consumers. Even more threatening are the latest rumors that Google is working on a Real Estate related project. Who knows what will come from the minds of Google?

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