As Trulia and Zillow fight for King of the Mountain...

Adding Zillow widgets on a brokerage website is innovation?? They are farming out every conceivable piece of their site to someone more capable of providing the innovation because they were asleep at the wheel the last few years. Now they can't catch up, so it's patchwork. They are ignoring the SEO implications (for the most part) of how their sites are built. They need only look to their search engine results for proof that their traffic is stagnant. These huge firms should be dominating the search engines instead of relying on brand recognition to drive consumers straight to their site.

Bob,

Yes I think it's very forward-thinking of brokerages like Zip and Redfin to add home valuation information onto their sites. They've seen the enormous consumer appeal that valuations can have, and they decided to add that funcitonality to their websites. I think that's laudable.

I do agree with you though that brokerage sites should be dominating the search engines much more than they currently are. Trulia OWNS seo traffic, not brokerage sites.

My broker-in-charge 'offered me up'  to help our CB franchise teach a little bit about blogging and Active Rain, etc.  They weren't interested as they want to drive the agents to blog on the CB blogs they set up on the CB site for agents.  Amazing.  Go Trulia!!  (I want to work for Kevin in Miami!)

Actually eneighborhoods is only one of Remax programers, the other is Reliant. WE got stuck with eneighborhoods in Mi and it was terrible. I am no longer with Remax but the region in April went to Reliant and their searches have increased.

I know what you are saying, Laurie and Kevin, the big companies that aren't doing SEO do not come up with good placement in Ann Arbor, actually the local, traditional companies that hired technology people do. So at least their owners get it.

KW and Remax come up only if you put their search terms in.

So I do agree with Jon they are behind the times, I have good placement for the search terms I feel buyers will be looking for but I have worked my butt off to get there.... and will continue to do so.

How long will it take from traditional brokerages to scan Google and see what/how Zillow/Trulia are doing?

Who cares if Zillow or Trulia sell leads?  Traditional real estate companies get what they deserve. They did not innovate and let these companies actually take the food right out of their hands.

It's funny actually.  These VC companies are already running out of cash.  Did anyone notice at Inman this year that there was NO swag.  No t-shirts, stress balls, pens...nothing!!!

This is one of the MOST important posts that have been written in AR this whole year---and only 19 comments?  I guess if Blogging Bertha authored this post there would be 300 comments.

Laurie

I'm actually happy that this is going down the way it is.  If REALTOR.com is basically not relevant, why would we worry about other "competitors." 

Why do so many people worry about Trulia and Zillow and not Realtor.com?  They are all the same thing to me EXCEPT that WE pay for Realtor.com to turn around and charge us AGAIN.  That is the REAL CRIME, NO?

This is kind of humorous.  The big guys aren't innovating at all.  They are just farming out to smaller companies and their franchise holders to do the innovating, while they sit and watch. 

Any of these big companies would be in a much better position to push the envelope than little brokers around the country.  Instead, franchise holders and local brokers are having to buy solutions and put together mash-ups on their own. 

Where is C21 on A|R?  RE/MAX?  CB?  They aren't here talking to agents.  They aren't here to see where technology is going.  There are scores of their brokers and franchisees... but no corporate.  Heck, like the NAR, they are showing that in order to get current they will have to be dragged kicking and screaming...

IMHO, one of the most challenging issues here is that real estate industry leaders are still trying to figure out the nuances of web-speak.  It's not just a numbers game, it's a totally different philosophy of business that requires an understanding of the fundamental strength and weaknesses of the real estate industry AND the dynamics of web based search and social interaction. 

At a time when the real estate industry is facing some of it's biggest challenges, it's not easy to see one's way through the fog.  The fact remains that brokers still are the primary access points for real estate data; without their implicit or complicit cooperation in data gathering, most of the sites mentioned have a much bigger hill to climb...for now. 

Where brokers have failed most is in their failure to harness this capital to capture the conversation around the real estate transaction.  Huge data pools which don't provide additional Value to the mind of a consumer tend to stale quickly in the online world.  When consumers see listings online for a year or two, they want to know about WHAT this means for them...translate please! And now...not days later when my lead is finally routed to an agent who contacts me.

Conversation takes cooperation online and in real life.  Traditional norms in the real estate industry have trended towards competition.  In this new world, that may turn out to be an unscalable wall...or at least an endeavor which will require a whole new mind.

One would think that the large brokerages would like to get on board with this "stuff" to add value to their agents.

In my opinion, there is a huuuuuuuuuuge opportunity for a VERY tech forward brokerage to open up.

People are missing the boat.  If a brokerage opened up with all this available technology in place to make it easy for their agents, that would be huge.

Absolutely Kevin.  But the longest distance between 2 points is sometimes between our ears.  It's a mindshift issue and until there is real comprehension, it won't happen.  In some ways, it's like counting pennies and letting dollars float away.  It's also about being willing to be humble and explore another approach....

I especially love the kudos you give because it's appropriate, they got out there in full entreprenuerial style (Trulia and Zillow).  I also like what you say at the end....continue, traditional companies, to step up your game.

My perspective comes from working with a company aligned with Trulia.  Guess what that has done? It has opened up our top brass to new ideas.  So instead of it winding up that Trulia does all the work, our company is now doing things apart from the IDX aspect of it, and are enhancing our web presence in ways that four yrs ago I would have said would be unheard of.  I'm so happy with the changes (tech)(and web) happening in my company.  Oh and btw I get leads from my Howard Hanna site, my outside blog, my AR blog, and yes Trulia!  As far as I'm concerned, it's all good.

Let me just be clear; competition has always allowed those who wish to succeed to step up their game. My company has become so much more agent centric in the last year and I am so happy about it.

Carole

"It's all good" is what continues to keep us Realtors behind the 8 ball.

I'm sorry if you feel you are behind the 8 ball but I don't! I hear what people are saying, that companies need to be providing the tech services and embracing technoogy not ignoring or running from it.  Kevin, I am saying that my company is embracing it, not hiding. 

And Kevin I also agree with Bob's comment above. There are things I can do that don't require my Company to provide me. And the 'stuff' my Company is doing for me is so much more useful to me than them spending a ton of money on what Trulia is already doing.  Zillow is a different story, I don't think they have done as good a job as they should have by now..

I agree that the traditional real estate industries have stagnated while 3rd pary companies have filled the creative gap. I personally think that this is more of a misunderstanding of the new consumer by traditional RE. The new consumer actually wants to be asked to interact, and not just fill out forms. They want videos, photos, community and interaction. I say that Trulia jumped up the ranks because they listened to the VOICES of the consumers.

Carole

I didn't say I feel that I am behind the 8 ball---the attitude that most agents have with regard to "I'll take what I can get---" keeps "them" behind the 8 ball.

I don't really look to Trulia or Zillow to help me get something.  I can do more, better on my own.

As REALTORS we gave all of our info to REALTOR.com and they couldn't make it work. Now we are giving it to Trulia and Zillow in hopes of them making it work.  We don't WE JUST KEEP our own info and make it work for ourselves???????????

The ONLY thing that Trulia did was max out the search engines.  They aren't this great consumer advocate.  The made themselves findable on the internet.  Period.

Jonathan,

This is all too familiar. Kelly Blue Book accomplished the same feet for car values beginning five years ago. Their (KBB) inaccuracy in values took more time to materilize than zillow. Your point is well taken that marketing is perception. We must be prepared to constructively dispute this information with the clients best interests in mind.

Hi - Just sharing thoughts from someone who works in technology for a larger firm... When I hear questions/comments about this I think we are not really comparing apples-to-apples. On one side you have a technology company in real estate and on the other side you have a real estate company offering technology. Their budgets and goals are very different.  If some of the 'larger' companies stepped up their investments in technology... yes there could be some cool stuff - but I don't know if their investment could ever compare to the investments of the 'technology' companies. I love competition. I definitely think it brings more out, but at the same time... I think there is a place for balance and partnerships. Mutual benefits. I don't think the existing set ups/api offerings have that worked out yet (and I don't know what it would be), but wouldn't that be cool if it could be more of a collaboration instead of a battle?

I think that Carole Cohen hits the nail on the head. I welcome the chance to use real estate search platorms that make life easier for a real estate agent.

Take another look at the post and comment thread. The original poster and most of the commenters focus on what is best for the real estate professional. What serves agents and brokers best?

Perhaps a better question is, "What serves real estate consumers best?"

I think that a large measure of the success at Trulia and Zillow is meeting consumer needs and expectations for rich property search better than Realtor.com and better than our little IDX solutions. The fact that their business models invite real estate professionals to share their success in ways that are no cost and low cost is an outcome we should greet enthusiastically.

The real estate industry's attempts to be the gatekeepers of information have failed. It is a new world. You do not have to be a card-carrying member of NAR to be a member of the real estate community. The online world connects members of the community in a far reaching fashion. Who really constitutes the real estate community?

• Some 50% licensed real estate agents do not belong to NAR but they are members of the larger real estate community.
• Buyers are members of the real estate community.
• Sellers (including FSBOs) are members of the real estate community.
• Homeowners are members of a larger real estate community even when they are not selling their homes.
• Vendors who meet the needs of all these groups are members of the real estate community.

Real estate agents and brokers using Trulia and Zillow are not "rolling over" to anyone. Smart brokers and agents are assessing excellent new business tools and they are using them to attract buyers and sellers. Vendors and sales professionals are collaborating to create better tools to make agents more productive with a happier client base. That is a reason to celebrate, not denigrate newcomers to the industry who make our jobs more fun and profitable.