Tag Archives: Realtor.com
DS + Zillow = A whole Host of Questions
Warning: this post is not within the real of purely local real estate blogging …
Second, when I saw this news I felt like I’d been punched in the gut. One of the reasons I have so loved Diverse Solutions on my site is that they gave me what I believed to be the best tool out there to search for homes in my market. In part, I’ve been competing with Zillow (not really, they’re huge. I’m tiny) But really, I have been. Now they’re together? Zillow, who makes money (as all of the third parties do) selling agents on upsells for $X per month?
1. Is this the next step in the evolution of Zillow becoming/replacing/supplanting the MLS? Maybe. Maybe not.
2a. Presumably, if I keep using Diverse Solutions to power my real estate search page, I’ll have to update my site’s privacy policy saying that Zillow is likely to start farming my users’ information. That will suck.
4. Listings, and listing data are a commodity . Everyone has them. I’ve benefited by google indexing the MLS listings found on my site, but I’ve never depended on it. I generate unique, relevant, and occasionally good content. Anyone can get listing data.
6. See #4. Those depending on real estate search for their SEO are now SOL. It’s the evolution/consolidation of the tech space, and that’s ok. Real estate is about real estate representation – used with technology appropriately. Technology without competent representation and interpretation is merely cool tech.
Realtor.com’s App Rocks – So Say I & my Clients
Say you want to know what houses are for sale in a certain, undefined area around Crozet Park.
I never thought I’d say such nice things about Realtor.com. I’ve written a few things about them over the years, and while I still have issues with their AVM and a few other things, the Realtor.com App is tremendous.
Put simply:
- If you’re searching for a home, download it.
- If you’re curious about home prices as you drive around, download it.
- If you’re a Realtor, get it .
I was showing houses in Crozet last … Continue reading…
New Realtor.com App Makes Me Regret not getting a 3G iPad
Two reasons to love and be impressed by the new Realtor.com app : 1 – Draw – exactly that. Draw a search area, not limited by realtors’ or localities often vague, wrong or amorphous neighborhood descriptions 2 – Scout – homes for sale pop up as you drive around a neighborhood. (wish I’d gone 3G) If you are a Realtor with an iPad, download this app . If you are a consumer with an iPad, download this app .
… I’ve been using this app for a couple days now, and everyone I have shown it to has been floored by the simplicity, the brilliance, the functionality, the (actual quote) “holy s**t, this is what real estate search on a tablet should be.” Continue reading
Showed Houses in Charlottesville Last Week -or- Why AVMs Suck
Zillow hasn’t been in the three townhomes in another neighborhood in Charlottesville , one of which needs to be gutted, one with a moist basement and mold coming on a piece of ceiling hanging from the bathroom and another one that absolutely needs to be taken to the studs.
…The product of an automated valuation technology analysis, public record data, and computer decision logic combined to provide a logical calculated estimate of a probable selling price of a residential property. … An AVM typically includes: ▪ An indicative market value for many residential properties nationwide. ▪ The Tax assessor’s indication of value, if available. ▪ Information on a subject property and recent sales history. ▪ Comparable Sales analysis of like properties.
…Cyberhomes puts it at $184,842 , the price range is $166,357 – $212,568: Realtor.com – You have to agree to have a Realtor contact you to provide the report. Continue reading
Blog Wayback – Future of Realtor.com, etc.
If Zillow competes with Realtor.com , will (and how will) some of the folks at NAR … position the Seattle company as bad for the industry?
…Rather than treat it as such and ensure that it is the comprehensive source of data, we have gotten comfortable and used to having a great source of information; complacency in any profession or industry will inevitably lead to failure. Continue reading
Single Agent Dual Agency – Do Consumers Care?
Do consumers care about Single Agent Dual Agency?
Maybe.
A. A licensee may act as a dual representative only with the written consent of all clients to the transaction. Such written consent and disclosure of the brokerage relationship as required by this article shall be presumed to have been given as against any client who signs a disclosure as provided in this section.
I got into quite a discussion with Ardell in Seattle on Twitter regarding whether consumers care about agency.
My belief is this – if the National Association of Realtors – or … Continue reading…
Realtors versus the MLS and the Real Estate Board
“Disclosure” in the context of online advertising means (i) advertising that contains the firm’s licensed name, the city and state in which the firm’s main office is located and the jurisdiction in which the firm holds a license or (ii) advertising that contains the licensee name, the name of the firm with which the licensee is active, the city and state in which the licensee’s office is located and the jurisdiction in which the licensee holds a license.
…In the age of the long-tail and the insatiable urge and demand for more information, we’re limiting the description of the properties we are marketing to 500 characters of text – no links, just text. (text is boring and so 1999 ) For now, the best we can do is try to educate the public to do their due diligence … tell them to Google the address … and do our very best to ensure that one of our pages comes up … in this case, the number one result is Trulia (get that, MLS committees? Continue reading
