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Non-Tech : Cendant Corporation (NYSE:CD) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Doug Bean who wrote (2825)	12/29/1998 3:23:00 PM
From: Wren	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 3627

It would be interesting to know from real estate sales people how you think the internet is going to effect your business over the next ten years. I recently read of a special industry meeting on the West Coast on the subject. In that meeting they discussed the possibility that the internet will make major changes. I don't remember the exact numbers. They said that where the internet is used, the average buyer looked at about 5 properties and bought in a month. The numbers given for the traditional buyer were much higher, like looked at 12 - 15 properties and took three months to make a purchase. A local real estate man has a radio program. I heard him say one day that 6% commissions were too much in his judgement, but it was necessary to make the industry go. He cited a lot of part timers working and a lot of inefficiencies that contributed to the necessity of commissions at that level. Do you think the internet is going to create opportunities for efficiencies that will give rise to discounters, similar to a WalMart in traditional retailing? I recently had occasion to look at some local websites on real estate. It was clear that the real estate people are not trying hard on those sites. A large number didn't even have a picture. Just a very few had several pictures of a property - such as how it looks from the street, a back yard view, and one or two interior views. Very little dialog was included. In most instances you couldn't even tell the location without looking at a street map. My feeling was the agents were afraid to present too much information. That they wanted face to face contact. From the numbers in a prior paragraph, it looks like an agent with a really informative web site might be able to significantly increase his or her volume by spending a lot less time showing properties for each sale that is closed. Of course, I don't know the business and would be interested in the views of people in the business.

To: Doug Bean who wrote (2825)	12/30/1998 5:28:00 PM
From: Thomas George Warner	Respond to of 3627

Mr. Bean if your post is directed at me, than you may not have read that I am not a real estate salesman nor have I ever been. I gave my perception of real estate from the perspective of someone that has friends in the business both in New York and Florida. Both in Century 21. I do however think that I understand the transition that is taking place in many sectors of our economy. The common factor is the internet. The internet has done much to put information at anyones finger tips that wants to use it. My impression is that Real Estate sales is no different than any other direct sales job. But that was not the question. My comment was directed to Mr. Feldmans comment that he does not use any of the other parts of Cendant, such as its title company. I believe that is counter productive in the long run for Cendant. I believe that if you work for a company, than you should honor its directives and goals. He made a comment that lead me to believe that upper management does not listen. I strongly disagree with that train of thought. Now if you want to chastise me for believing that we should not bite the hand that feeds us, than so be it. I think it is wrong. As a cendant shareholder, I believe that kind of outmoded thinking will only hurt the company and our goal of making a profit. I bow to your 30 years of experience in the Real estate business.