All properties are different, all properties are local, all parties to a transaction are unique, and all deals are distinctive. One share of IBM can replace any other IBM share of the same class. A hundred homes, in contrast, will each be unique. Real estate simply does not fit within the administrative systems, accounting protocols, or marketing programs which work well for traditional financial products. What may make sense for banks is to see brokerage as a way to capture more loans.
Brokers are at the point of sale when a home is sold, an ideal time to introduce a lender.
In the end, if the Federal Reserve and Treasury allow bankers to broker and manage properties, some transactions, fees and commissions which would have gone to traditional brokers will instead go to bankers and their realty subsidiaries. Today's brokers will not get a free ride if bankers are allowed into the field. Traditional brokers will need to fight for every commission dollar because banks or no banks, realty brokerage is already competitive. The Big Grab Peter G. Miller, the publisher of Realty Times, is the author of six real estate books, the original creator and host of America Online's Real Estate Center, and a regular columnist with The Real Estate Professional. Click here for a printer-friendly version of this article.