Sellers today are faced with a number of new technologies and advancements in terms of marketing and selling their own home. It has been reported that "hybrid" firms such as Redfin and Virgent  offer better technology for sellers thereby reducing the need for a realtor, and the realtors who do engage with these new style brokerages reduce the percentage paid total to home seller to 4.5%, however many in the real estate business and buyers, are not buying it. Sellers are met with a decision, whether to sell and leave their homes sales up to technology and current conditions, or if they want to use a trusted realtor who has helped others sell in their area.

While technology represents a vital role in exposing a home to potential buyers, this has always been the case with the multiple listing service and traditional digital media exposure. By using streamlined forms there is of course an advantage but the key ingredient that will always be missing from technology driven brokerage models and selling models, is emotion. Selling homes and buying homes, is by its' nature, emotional. Sellers have had these properties often times their whole lives and their memories and identities are intertwined in the fabric of a place, similarly, a buyer is envisioning their future and their hopes for a a future in a landscape that is the new home. Realtors are far more than negotiators armed with market statistics, they are also partners in this process.