I was doing a search on GOOGLE the other day for a condo in Miami Beach.  Upon searching the term "Miami Beach Condos", I was ambushed by endless websites for different brokerage sites.  After 4 pages of searching for a high rise website - any website would do, I gave up - (most people don't even look past the first page!).  All websites contained the same information about all the different high rises going up in Miami Beach but I had to go through a real estate agent to get the necessary information I wanted - the direct phone number to the property and who the developer was.  (You can seldom get those 2 pieces of vital information on a brokerage website).

The same result happened when I searched for "Miami Condos" in YAHOO!.  5 webpages and no developer sites.  Why aren't developers paying more for search engine optimization?  Why are they not fighting harder and expending more resource to be at the top of searches?  Why are developers happy to give away 3% commission of one unit to a co-op broker.  Let's say, for example, that a condo in Miami Beach costs $500,000.00.  A developer would be giving away $15,000.00 to an outside broker?!?!  Incredible.

There should be a independent website that developers list their projects on for a monthly fee - A monthly fee so insignificant to the developer that it's a small fraction of what it would cost to pay 1 commission on 1 unit to a co-op broker.  This website should allow the internet browser - consumer - to easily browse through the different condo/town home/loft projects freely without the pressure of a real estate agent hounding them for any project in any part of the country. 

Let's say, for example, that a condo high rise is on the market for 1 year.  This condo high rise has 100 units.  Let's say the average price per unit is $350,000.00.  Let's also say that outside brokers procured buyers for 40% of the building (40 units) and the outside brokers are paid 3% of the cost of the unit as commission.  This developer is now paying a staggering $420,000 in commission! 

Now, what if, this developer put his high rise on an independent website for a fee of $500/month.  The independent's website's sole purpose is to drive more potential buyers to the developer's website and the independent website doesn't make a dime on any sale of any units.  This will get the potential homebuyer to the developer's in-house sales team and when the in house sales team makes a sale, the developer SAVES 3% on an outside commission.  Because of this independent website, the developer of the 100 unit high rise is now only paying outside brokers for securing 25% (25 units) of the building.

The developer has paid the independent website $6000.00 for the year - A FLAT FEE - and has saved $157,000 from paying outside commissions.  When all is said and done, the independent website has saved the developer $151,000.00 for the year. 

Things that make you go hmmm....

You may say to yourself that this idea is amazing and why is there not any sites like this one on the market right now?  Well, there is one independent  website that is the leader in independent condo advertising... www.NewCondosOnline.com!!!  This site is going to change the way how developers of condo, loft,  and town home projects market their products.  Mark my words.  Developers are going to be more inclined to pay a flat fee of $10,000.00 (for argument's sake) than shell out hundreds of thousands of dollars in co-op commissions.  According to the NAR, over 77% of homebuyers start their search on the internet.  I see that percentage going up to roughly 95%-97% in less than 2 years.  And who is going to be there when these consumers want to search for a home?  You guessed it...NewCondosOnline.com.