Home : Blogs : Matt Heaton : The ActiveRain Addiction (Matt Heaton)

Another real estate bubble...

No, I'm not talking about the housing bubble that's been center page in the media for the past couple years. I'm talking about the bubble in listing aggregation services that is very quickly inflating to huge proportions. Everybody and their cousin is working on some scheme to aggregate listings at a national level in order to draw (and monetize) consumer eyeballs.

Just in the past week Zillow, HouseValues and HomeGain all launched initiatives in this space to go along with Trulia, Oodle, Move, PropSmart, Google Base, Point2, Craigslist, and I'm sure at least a dozen others in the next year. Combine that with the fact that about every real estate agent and broker on the Internet offers local IDX feeds on their website, and if that isn't a bubble, I don't know what is.

Yes, I know the rewards for a potential success are huge, but we seem to be seeing the typical, follow the herd mentality taking place, which is going result in a lot of companies being burned. The key factor in this whole equation is inventory, despite all the hype nobody outside of Move (realtor.com) has been able to capture a significant share of the listings.

Posted by Matt Heaton on 12/09/2006 05:39 PM

Comments (8)

zillow, listing aggregators, real estate technology, real estate news

8 Comments on Another real estate bubble...

DEC

2006

I say "let them burn!" We don't need them, we need to take our information back.

The Internet is just a medium for real estate. The true sales and knowledge come from the Realtors in the trenches that know the ins and outs of the local market.

If someone believes that finding a listing of homes for sales is all that there is to buying a home, I'VE GOT A BRIDGE I'LL SELL THEM.

All the Internet listing sites do is show pretty pictures of homes and lead prospective buyers to the listing agents. So be it.

N E W S F L A S H ! !

Finding the listings just the first of approximately 16 actions that must be taken following finding the list of homes for sale.

These sites are not threat. We just have to compete harder to be up there on the Internet with them.

Success is always based on knowledge of the local market, knowledge of your business and hard work. The numerous sites available are all supplements to the good work that we do in each of our individual markets not a replacement

It's just going to further confuse the consumer. I keep hearing Pink Floyd playing in my mind..."Money, money, money, money...MONEY!!! I really loved Brian Brady's post earlier. It is perhaps the best analysis I've read lately.

In my experience, there's simply no replacement for Realtor.com

I agree with Kristal & Lenn.

DEC

2006

Who should you trust? Jeff Corbett points out the advantages of the "sticky" nature of these sites and suggests that Realtors create thier own. That is a VERY good proposition but I think it makes sense for lenders to do.

Who always checks values? Lenders! Who is in a position to capture the local market by offering free content to Realtors in a non-competitive way with no ulerior motives...lenders.

I gotta run...I think I'll be busy for a while.

Matt,

Isn`t this really the whole point of Real Estate and the expansion of the net?

Sales will still be made by Realtors, only consumers have a better chance to decide where and what they want to look at.

Companies like homegain,trulia,yahoo.com and google.com are treading in new waters, much like you`re doing with Active Rain.

It doesn`t seem to hurting Realtors and how they sell Real Estate.

The market conditions are another story, but all other factors especially Realtors who navigate in these waters will undoubtedly become stronger as technolgy continues to grow.