SOME CRUCIAL TIPS TO SURVIVING DISRUPTION...
When I wrote my featured post "THE CASE AGAINST ZESTIMATES--CASE CLOSED??" in June of 2018, I never dreamed I would be where I am now: I have written at least 5 posts since giving a rundown on how the big sites Z, T, and R are going after our livelihoods.
As real estate agents and brokers, working our "farms" or niches to bring in listings in a responsible manner and seeing to it that we are keeping our fiduciary commitments to our clients, we are now heading to the "endangered species" list.
The truth is, the national community of agents and brokers still do not understand what is about to happen to them. No one knew that "Z" bought out all our listings platforms here in the Hamptons and Manhattan UNTIL THEY BOUGHT THEM OUT!
- You will, in time, find yourself without the most basic tools to go out to get your own listings--the big "Z" is here to take that away! (They have closed down Google maps on all the listing platforms here--They have disconnected us from our own database of RTS--a crucial list of Town data and statistics about each property in the Hamptons--They shut that down in March of this year--nothing is available to us from that date forward)
- Better start stockpiling all your data--your client and customer base included, since the beast now has all your contact information. Keep it in a database--secure as possible and impervious to "Z"s snooping.
- Better begin to form a "cartel' of sorts in your real estate community--a collection of the most committed agents who know what is coming down the pike. You will need survival gear, such as Town/City data collectors, and you need tech specialists who know what "Z" is going after in order to protect new data that you have had to collect.
- Do not be surprised when you stop getting calls on your listings; this is about to happen because Zillow is now directly contacting your clients and customers with offers to buy and mortgages to use for a property he/she will be buying from them. "Z" IS IN THE PROCESS OF DISCONNECTING ALL BROKERAGES FROM THE PUBLIC!
I have taken an oath to myself and to everyone in my real estate community here in the Hamptons: I vow to keep at it until every living, breathing human being gets the full scope of what is really going on in the world of real estate.
I talk to all who will listen; I write these posts and circulate them to social media, LinkedIn and Facebook in particular and I make sure to get them in front of those who care enough to take on some of the messaging; Jonathan Miller of Miller Samuels Accountants and Appraisers is one of the few are committed to getting the word out on his "Housing Notes" weekly newsletter.
I can see that the circumstances are so dire now, with the real estate market in freefall here and with most agents pulling the plug on the big monthly dole out to "Z" there is about to be a big shift--perhaps a big buy-out or bankruptcy or some such thing..."Z" has purchased over 8000 houses to renovate and "flip"--they are in the midst of the slowdown and what happens to "flippers" in a sudden downturn in real estate sales??? GUESS!
Now, just to make a point as our marketplace slides into the worst housing crisis we have ever seen, I want those who did not believe me--those who spoke out vociferously about how wrong I was, to read one of the strongest voices against my position.
In a comment that you can see for yourself in the link above, Rich Jacobson expressed his opinion, closed minded as it was in response to my efforts to inform all of you what is happening here, in the Hamptons in particular: "Instead of expending so much time and energy complaining and bemoaning about something you'll never be able to change, use it to your advantage!" I wish I had a penny for every wishy-washy comment like that from across the nation--some agents just cannot comprehend what is happening, AS IT IS HAPPENING TO THEM!
This was a fine comment to make to someone who has seen and heard directly from the mouths of those in charge at "Z" that it is their intention to close down all real estate brokerages across the nation, just as they had done to travel agents when they introduced Expedia to the world of travel..."Just relax and let them take your livelihood--never mind that the public is being harmed in the process--and that the reputations of agents and brokers alike have been destroyed by the 'Pay to Play' game! "DEHUMANIZATION OF REAL ESTATE AGENTS" was featured here on AR in July of 2018--Little did I realize that this would be a Bell-weather and the beginning of the Great Destruction felt here in the Hamptons...
Agents are beginning to stop lining up to pay the biggest bucks to get the best leads --A complete ruse, by the way--there are no "best leads"!...There are no buyers! The agent who fell for the line "Just pay $3k to $6k a month to get the most leads!" are now sitting in their foreclosed homes wondering what they can do to earn money--The real estate market is dead and some agents are STILL paying the beast, hoping that the market will open up again--it is spring after all!!
Agents are in real trouble right now...Some are in worse trouble than others.
And, the worst possible thing of all?? The public is now wary of all of us in real estate; they have been harmed by the shady dealings and the misleading information offered up on "Z"s websites...all of which is pointed at the agent whose face is STILL appearing inappropriately next to a listing they know NOTHING about!!
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