"We expect full implementation of the leasing platform within the next six months," says Kevin Travers, COO at Comro.com. "Elements of the new technology will be introduced piecemeal during this time frame."
The new elements will be a key step forward in Comro.com's vision of creating a "lease exchange", although Travers admits that his firm is still a long way off from actually executing lease transactions online. "The industry is at least three to five years away from being able to introduce that." he said.
The new elements of Comro.com's system will improve users' ability to negotiate on Comro.com by allowing for the simultaneous sending of requests-for-proposals to various listings on Comro.com. Also, Comro.com is improving its system's ability to provide comparative analysis of the proposals based on design specifications once the proposals are sent back, among other things.
Travers admits that there is considerable wariness among real estate brokers about the effect that companies like Comro.com, Loopnet.com and others will ultimately have on their business. He was very careful to emphasize that the new services being rolled out on Comro.com will not compete with any existing intermediaries such as the brokerage community.
While automated online buying, selling and leasing may be viewed as the "holy grail" for property owners and buyers, brokers fear that they may become increasingly cut out of the transaction process by technology. Travers admits it is almost inevitable that the role of the broker will change considerably as technology increasingly dominates real estate transactions services. "To some extent they will become marginalized," says Travers.
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