Scads of aggregators and media companies emerge collecting listings and building bigger, cooler, flashier search sites.
Brokers get on board.
Had anyone Nostradamused this 12 years ago, they would have been stapled to a yard sign and burned as a heretic.
There’s a reason why these sites have won broker favor and get all the traffic they do. Spend some time on Zillow. The thing is, you can. There, you will be entertained. Educated. Impressed. Spoken too in ways most of the industry has yet to figure out.
For the naysayers and non believers, and those who still take arms against these search sites, well, you’re surely missing the point: These "outsiders" are probably doing more right now than any "insider" to keep the fires of interest in real estate stoked.
It’s agreed – the only reason these sites even exist is because they have been given access to broker property. Today, listings are like air. MLS listings, foreclosure listings, FSBO sites, teardown listings. The challenge for the aggregators will soon be all about who can build the most compelling user experience.
"Is this bad for sellers?" was a question I was asked today by a broker via email. I can’t imagine why. If you were selling a house, would you be satisfied if your home were only marketed on a poorly functioning, old looking, self indulgent, broker/agent website? I doubt it.
Okay, so listings are now ubiquitous. That holy grail is gone. Does this spell doom for real estate practitioners? I doubt it. As I poke holes into the future and squint, hoping to grab a glimpse of what’s out there, I honestly do not see a time when homeowners will ever want to handle the rest of the transaction on their own. The need for a skilled real estate practitioner is, as I see it, forever.
If I were a broker, I’d be getting out my bucket of opportunity and start packing as much sand into it as I can and begin building a new castle for tomorrow.
I’d start with a full brand analysis.
I’d make a list of every touch point.
I’d attack each one. Fom the brandmark to the agents who work in my office and everything in between.
I’d make sure that there’s a truth behind every claim, an experience behind every promise.
I’d make sure the every one of my agents is a brand messenger.
I’d make sure that my brand comes to life by what others think of it.
Listings? Set them free. Cling to that which you can really build on: Your brand.
– Davison
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Great list for brokers – and for all agents and those in the industry. Listings come and go, your personal brand can be with you forever.
Bravo!
The practice of 'protect your listings' has been the mantra of NAR for so long, agents have been focused on this 'strategy' instead of positioning themselves ahead of the inevitable ubiquity of listings that stands before them today…
The recent conversations around the re.net have addressed the experience vs results dynamic…now we're getting somewhere!
Hear ye, hear ye! Listings are now a commodity online! Too true.
But what about the argument that some posit: We shouldn't syndicate our listings to places like Zillow because their ultimate business model, regardless of what they say now, is to disintermediate us. Once they have a critical mass of OUR data, all they have to do is "flip" the switch and voila! A nationwide competitor to Redfin.
Is there really a disintermediation switch? I always pictured it to be a large lever with a big red knob on the end of it.
The notion seems far-fetched. But should a scenario like this occur where one company attains such critical mass and ascends to a pulpit of influence that a flip of switch is all that's needed to disintermediate one million real estate agents, then I'd say, the disintermediated model was seismically faulty for a long time.
Those who posit this concern, I wonder, what are they doing about it?
It is more important than ever for brokers and agents to make good decisions about, and grow, their brand. It's not information they need to hold onto, it's their brand, which is their identity.
Having an effective web presence is all about the experience, and so is a brand. A brand should relay an experience, a position in the mind of the consumer.