There is a rumor circulating right now that there may be a possible merger between Trulia and Zillow, two of the most widely used real estate listing sites on the internet. Like wildfire, the rumor has begun to spread throughout the real estate network on the internet. But what does this really mean? What's the big deal?
Merger Between Trulia and Zillow?
In a survey of nearly 400 people, Inman.com did a survey to determine what people thought about a potential merger between these two companies. Of the responses, approximately 30.3% said it was a good thing, 54.4% said it was a bad thing and 15.3% said that they didn't know what it really meant.
Obviously, there is an overwhelming sense that if this rumor is true, and actually works out, that there could be some negative ramifications to this merger. And indeed, they are right. While the merger may be good for some (buyer clients), real estate agents and listing clients would likely suffer from such a business deal.
Basic economics teaches that the more competition there is, the better it is for the consumer. If Trulia and Zillow merge, there is obviously less competition in this arena. It will likely increase the cost of advertising on these sites for agents and reduce the amount of listing clients that actually see their listing "highlighted" or emphasized on these sites (though the real impact is likely to be unmeasurable until the details to this transaction are revealed).
Where's the potential benefit to the buyer client? Well, as the two merge, Zillow and Trulia, the best of both worlds may be combined into a more powerful search engine that allows more features and less "bugs". Real estate agents know that both of these sites have a lot of glitches that could be worked out.
But is there a solution for realtors and listing clients? Certainly! Don't make these two sites the epicenter of your marketing plan! Consider getting into your own personal website that you can promote to all your clients. For instance, check out our site here. It gives a basic search bar that very easily transforms into a complex search engine that allows for the entirety of the IRMLS (Indiana Regional Multiple Listing Service) to be searched and on a quicker time frame (1-2 hour information gap rather than as much as 12-24 hours). You can also look into using other listing sites, Craigslist, and working on a more comprehensive marketing plan.
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