HungryAgents.com, a Web site that allows real estate agents to bid for sellers’ business by lowering their commission rates, has expanded its services to target home buyers.
“Prices of existing homes have fallen for the first time in 11 years and the backlog of available homes for sale is at its highest since 1999. No arguments anymore — it’s a buyer’s market,” according to a company announcement this week.
HungryAgents.com now allows buyers to input their preferences for the location, price range and length of time that they desire to purchase a home. Based on that information, real estate agents who seek to work with those buyers can bid on how much of their commission they are willing to rebate to the prospective buyer.
The rebate “is a great incentive, especially for first-time buyers who could use the money for closing costs, or perhaps new furniture,” according to the company announcement.
Since its launch, more than $2 billion worth of property was registered through the HungryAgents.com site and the site has matched “thousands of sellers” with agents, the company reported.
Some other sites, too, allow agents to slim down their commission in an effort to win over real estate consumers. RealtyBaron.com, for example, allows agents to bid for the lowest commission rate on a listing after reviewing property information submitted by sellers, and ListLow.com is a referral service that offers consumers commission savings for working with agents in its network.