Zillow Called: “We Need To Re-Evaluate.”

zillowsignThis morning I received an out of the ordinary phone call from one of my largest vendors. The call didn’t come from my regular sales relationship, but an unfamiliar voice that came along with the title of “Senior Sales Consultant.” The vendor: Zillow. My reaction – “OK. Here we go…”

No doubt, Zillow is king of the online real estate mountain. Their aggressiveness and creativity have taken things to a new level. Ever heard of the “Zestimate?” Buyers and Sellers may know it’s wrong, but they sure aren’t scared to use it as a point of reference.

Further, Zillow Group just acquired the #2 portal, Trulia.com, which makes the company that much stronger. Fast forward to a some weeks ago and Rupert Murdoch, owner of News Corp., acquired former #1 online presence, www.Realtor.com. #Fight!!

Then came this, “As you may have read in the news today, the courts have ruled in ListHub’s favor, allowing the syndicator to sever their relationship with Zillow Group, discontinuing their syndication of listing data to both Trulia and Zillow effective April 7, 2015.”

Over the years my sales rep and I have developed a presence whereby I receive about 40,000ish impressions per month, depending on the strength of the zip codes at the time. As of today, they’re asking for about 100% increase in funding, which of course is roughly double my current Zillow ad budget.

Over the years, as a Realtor that represents a lot of listings, I’ve embraced the Zillow model and will continue to be impressed. That said, I’ll have to perform a careful cost/benefit analysis of exposure, dollors spent, and ROI. “Exposure” in Zillow’s world is called “Impressions.” You see, one must consider, if a Realtor gives up exposure/impressions, he/she is opening a door for his/her competition to scoop the zip code space they’re giving up. The move could be a permanent. To bring this big pic conversation to Columbia, SC, I can almost predict who would pick up my space, should I give any up.

Side note – This blog post doesn’t even include Zillow’s “enhanced listing” revenue stream. That’s a post for another night.

Good for Zillow.com for being in a no lose situation within the immediate future. We’ll see how it all shakes out.

I just want the most exposure and best experience for my buyer and seller clients that I can possibly provide.

Franklin

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