国人所熟悉的房产中介形象是什么样的呢？他们身着醒目的白衬衫、黑西裤，骑着电瓶车穿梭于大街小巷，汗湿的脖子上不只挂有领带，还有更引人注目的绿色的胸卡挂带。虽然收入也很可观，可是人们却很难把这份职业和中产阶级联想到一块儿。可是在美国，房产中介却是一个十分体面的工作。绝大部分房产经纪人都接受过高等教育，并且需要通过严苛的房产经纪人执照考试才能入职。随着年龄和经验的增长，美国房产经纪人的收入也水涨船高，一些从业多年的的经纪人年薪可能会比大学教师和医生还要高。
然而，这份看似稳定无忧的职业也受到了来自互联网的挑战。美国房产市场上最近出现了一个叫作 iBuyer 的产品，该产品可以帮助客户在短短几日之内搞定所有的房产买卖手续，效率极高。对于那些急需搬家的人，iBuyer 无疑是福音；可是对于传统中介，这个强势的新产品可算不上什么好消息。
本篇课程选自 The Economist Espresso APP
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Estate agents beware: iBuyers
① The residential property business has proved devilishly hard to disrupt.
② Indeed, estate agents' fees have barely budged in the internet age.
③ But new entrants keep trying to shake things up.
④ Today Opendoor, a so-called instant buyer ("iBuyer" for short), will announce its entry into several American cities, including Sacramento, Portland and Denver.
⑤ It hopes to be in 50 by 2020.
⑥ The growing crop of iBuyers purchase homes directly from sellers—cutting out estate agents—then spruce them up and relist them at a premium.
⑦ They offer speed and certainty for the seller (transactions can be completed in a few days) in exchange for a slight discount relative to market value.
⑧ iBuyers' current market share is tiny but likely to grow.
⑨ The price/convenience trade-off should appeal to people who have found a new home and want to move quickly, including those relocating for a job.
⑩ Agents may yet feel the squeeze.
▍生词好句
estate /ɪˈsteɪt/: n. 房产
· real estate (property): 房地产；不动产
agent /ˈeɪdʒənt/: n. 中介；经纪人；特工
beware /bɪˈweə, bɪˈwer/: vi. 小心
Beware of your wallet!
小心钱包！
Beware! = Be careful!
小心！
residential /ˌrezɪˈdenʃəl/: adj. 居住的
· resident /ˈrezɪdənt/: n. 居民
· residence /ˈrezɪdəns/: n. 寓所；住所
residential property: 住宅房地产
devilishly /ˈdevəlɪʃli/: adv. 非常
· devil /ˈdevəl/: n. 魔鬼；恶魔
· Devil's in the detail. 细节里出魔鬼。
disrupt /dɪsˈrʌpt/: vt. 颠覆
budge /bʌdʒ/: vi. 微微移动 (文中可理解为“下跌”)
for short: 简称
a crop of /krɒp, krɑːp/: 一批
· 近义表达：a batch of
spruce … up /spruːs/: 打扫干净；打扮整齐
relist /riːˈlɪst/: vt. 重新挂牌
value added /ˌvæljuː ˈædɪd/: 增值；附加价值
premium /ˈpriːmiəm/: n. 加价；溢价 adj. 优质的；顶级的
trade-off /ˈtreɪdɒf, ˈtreɪdɑːf/: n. 权衡；折中
relocate /ˌriːləʊˈkeɪt/: vi. 重新安置；迁移新址
squeeze /skwiːz/: n. 挤压
▍责任编辑
李焕、杨晶妍、陈鑫悦、章晓丹
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