In a recent Inman article NAR responds to Zillow concerns from it’s members.
CLICK HERE for the Inman Article.
In a recent Inman article NAR responds to Zillow concerns from it’s members.
CLICK HERE for the Inman Article.
I think that we, Realtors, need to start by addressing this issue to our local boards and state association to put a pressure on NAR to stop allowing IDX access to Zillow and Trulia and all the other commercialized websites. We are paying so much to licensing, CE, local dues, Ect… and we MUST stop it before our services will not be needed anymore.
What am I paying dues for? I thought it was for an advocate to ensure an even playing field?! To protecting the public?! I guess when the value of dues shrinks to a level where the value of that money would benefit my business elsewhere, It would be time to leave. Getting closer!?
This may seem to simple, but NAR has quite a bit of money, why don’t they just build a Zillow type site of their own, do a little Gorilla marketing of the site and close Zillow down in a year. Yea I know it would be expensive but they would have thousands of instant customers to cover the cost. Does that sound to simple?
They do. It’s called Realtor.com
Only one way NAR can win, Narstimate.
Zillow has consistently provided poor zestimates thus creating a lot of confusion in the marketplace. NAR does need to do something and Realtors/Brokers need to be able to boycott the syndication.
True, agents pay Zillow for leads (I do not and will not). But listings belong to brokers. Brokers want as much exposure for listings which today includes Zillow. I’m sure Zillow gets the majority of the listings from the big franchisors and larger brokerages. If these entities would stop sending Zillow listings (independent decision-making of course) there would be few listings available. And, for the others, they should be able to access a dashboard available from the MLS to opt-out of third-party distribution to the Zillows of the world. But because it appears Zillow has built a better mouse trap for listing exposure – and sellers always ask if their property will be on Zillow and actually look for it, the franchisors and larger brokerages might be fearful of blowback and possible litigation for not doing the most possible to expose properties to the market. So while agents could stop paying for leads, brokers, it would seem, have more power to put a dent in Zillow. Make no mistake, though, we continue to shoot ourselves in the foot.
I am a past Zillow premier agent. Let me explain the business logic, paid $3500 a year, zero tangible leads, goose egg….pretty good return-huh. I waste a lot of time describing to my clients the inaccurate information and how Zillow is 3 weeks behind life. Dry up Zillow with no syndication and no advertising. How about it NAR? Share horror stories of transactions with out professional representation.
You just explained your own problem. You only paid them $3500 per year. A worthwhile percentage of a decent Denver zip code, is $3,500-$4,500 per month… not oer year. You were only spending 1/10 of what it takes to make it work. However, $3,500 spent on the right zip, typically returns as $12,000-$15,000 per month in commissions. Love it, or hate it… Zillow will make you VERY successful, if you PROPERLY work their system. With a $3,500 yearly spend, you werent doing it right. The old saying is true, “You have to spend money, to make money.”
So you are ok with Zillow catching your fish and selling them back to you???
Zillow is the ‘tobacco’ of real estate, and agents buying their leads are the smokers. Keep buying the leads and Z will ultimately kill our business. We’ll all be looking back 5 years from now wondering what they hell we were thinking by funding our own demise. Enjoy it while it lasts because NAR will be ZAR.
It’s very sad that our own Association will not back us! It seems by feeding Zillow money and the syndication of our listings (that they’re selling back to us!) we have created quite the monster! It’s time to take back our business. Our MLS’s should no longer syndicate to this site and we should stop providing Zillow with dollars to continue this insanity! NAR should look up what the term “swinging” means and grab a set of balls! So much to do, we all need to band together to get it done before they succeed at making the role of the Realtor extinct. Start with signing that petition at stopzillow.com Please!
We are all fed up – It is time! The Time is now! – go to http://www.STOPzillow.com and sign the petition –
we are going to do something about it!
Bud Thank you for the petition . WHere is this being forwarded to? I have forwarded on to about 50 agents . GARY 1 Stop Realty, LLC
I do not like Zillow as their zestimates are never correct as they are not familiar with the areas we serve and the market values. I believe NAR needs to do something to protect our service and that is what we pay our dues for, at least I thought that is what it was for.
Zillow is enemy we must stop them.
Their information is never correct and its the homeowners who are losing.
They greatly undervalue property.
I have already signed the petition to stop zillow
you should too!!!!!
When Realtor.com was sold off to Rupert Murdoch this sent up a red flag that NAR is NOT doing what is best for their members. So if Zillow is taken out then Realtor.com will be the biggest benefactor. If the IDX feed is stopped to Zillow then so should the feed be stopped to the Realtor.com corporation. Truly a shame that Realtor com was sold.
I could not agree more! NAR sold out our very core online brand identity to a third party, thereby forfeiting licensing rights to our very name. I would like to know specifically who received compensation for this, what was the actual compensation, and what was the logic in making this decision. Seriously… WTF would ever cause anyone to sell their very name?!
We complain about Zillow…and I agree….But about Realtor.com…They are not much better!
I don’t like the guy, but I’m praying for the day that one of you pronounce his name properly. It’s CorDRAY, not CorDROY, as you continue to botch on a regular basis. Thank you!
Are we not a “Share Holder” in NAR?
I think everyone that is complaining about Zillow ( and there is a lot to complain about) is forgetting the fact that the R.E. market is going though change. What is that change? Well its the American Way. Build a better Mouse trap. Someone noticed that the NAR and Realtors are making MONEY. And technology can kick our %$^. If you cant see that this has already happened than its too late. Someone might look at Zillow and say. I can even do it better than them…..Wouldn’t that be great if that was the NAR?
Everyone on this post that’s calling for Zillow’s demise, needs to slow down and examine the “case study” provided by the Denver market. Denver’s MLS cut off Zillow’s IDX feed for 3 years. The only thing that achieved was allowing Redfin.com to step up and take their market share. Redfin is 10x more of a potential threat than Zillow ever dreamt of being. When Redfin enters a market, they dump millions into radio and tv, spreading the message that they will list a home for 3.8% (which they deceivingly advertise as 1%). They also advertise that their buyer agents will refund 30% of their commission back to the buyers. They also open up physical offices, to accompany their nationwide website… so that it prevents the local MLS from denying them an IDX feed. Be careful what you wish for. If you kill Zillow, there are even nastier monsters out there that instantly pop up to take their place.
Agreed Redfin and other technologies are a threat. But bring that threat on. Let Brokerages compete against Brokerages. I respectfully disagree that Zillow’s vacuum in and of itself created a Redfin windfall. Redfin just picked a target market just like McDonalds does when selecting a potentially lucrative location with comparatively less entrenched competition.
I have attracted numerous Buyers who wash out of Redfin’s system, because their conveyor-belt like process leaves the consumer with a completely disjointed experience. As a Broker or Agent, you know how hard it is to maintain consistent profits at 2.5%. True, Redfin leverages economies of scale, but they also have huge overhead, with less income per transaction… and they will have a day of reckoning to shareholders in the inevitable downturn.
Bottom line here. In Texas, Zillow’s Instant Offers is the practice of real estate brokerage. Without a Texas Real Estate Broker’s license it is illegal!