As I read the Inman Select Special Report on Syndication, I saw the respondents tell a story of a struggle between making the choice to participate on syndication websites or not and how the decision affects their business.  However, in my daily experience, I hear an entirely different perspective on syndication participation.  It is one of acceptance, engagement and ultimately embracing syndication.

Basically, it boils down to whether or not to send your listing information to syndication sites like Zillow, Trulia, Realtor.com and others.  According to the Inman report, most Relators® and Brokers do not want to participate in this trend but feel backed-up against the wall.  It is described as almost a “no win” situation: participate and give your hard-won listing information away for free and risk either having to buy your own leads back or risk having another Realtor pick them off through advertising on the syndication site.  If you don’t participate, your risk then becomes angering and possibly losing sellers who have come to expect this national exposure or being run over by competition who will choose to bite the bullet and participate.

However, in our experience at Buying Buddy, we find that most Realtors have embraced this trend.  Not only does it seem here to stay, but they have also learned to work with the system and not against it.  Most find that the exposure they receive through the sites has expanded their reach.  While acknowledging there are competitors on the sites, we see Agents who are disciplined in going through the sites to claim their listings and making sure the listing information is correct and they are listed as the contact.  The only complaint that we do hear occasionally is that the listing information is incorrect, and that is something that can, in some cases, work against them.

According to the Inman Syndication survey, 88% of respondents said that they syndicate their listing to one or more portals.  However, of that same sample, 67% of respondents said they would want to pull their listings if they would not face any major repercussions.   The respondents cite fear as a consequence, saying that competitors would use their lack of participation against them with Agents and Sellers.  So, for now, they stay.

On the flipside, according to AdWeek, 81% of people conduct online research before they buy.  So it makes complete sense that most of the Realtors we work with like the idea of getting the most exposure they can for their listings.  Buyer awareness is step one and, in their view, syndication sites go a long way to exposing buyers to their listings.  They recognize the power of syndication services to work in their favor by showing up where buyers are looking.

In spite of any turmoil around the idea of syndication, the majority of Agents and Brokers make the choice to send their listings to syndicates.  That said, where do you fall?  Do you feel that for every benefit found from syndicating your listings there is an associated cost that exceeds the reward?  Do you feel like this is the right direction for listing distribution on a larger scale?

All polls aside, for time being I don’t see how some form of participation in syndication can be avoided.  Do you?  Would you agree with the findings in Inman’s polls or do you have a view that is more in line with the Realtors we work with?  Let us know in the comments below.

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