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- Zuck Fillow
Zuck Fillow
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Came an email from our community member Linda Marcella from Adirondack Real Estate:
I couldn’t agree with you more! A Zillow rep called a few days ago to see if I was interested in becoming a Premier Agent again. I told him nope! I wasn’t going to pay money monthly to a company that was my competitor.
Although we can discuss our rates amongst us I would think we could share ideas about how Buyer Agents are going to handle their business, market their services and work with one another. Also, I wonder if buyers think our services will be free!
Last week I posted about Zilllow’s “7-day trial”. So… no commitment and no compensation which sounds like exactly what it is now. They just put lipstick on the pig.
The consumer believes that our value is in opening the door. We know our value is found in writing contracts, negotiating, and avoiding pitfalls.
This gives the consumer what they want and gives the agent a pretty natural Segway into full buyer representation. However, it will create a new incongruence between buyer expectations and what the agent is willing to do.
You now have Zillow trying to slide in the back door to appeal to the group that are nervous about signing a BA agreement with:
“Tired of Agents requiring a BA agreement to simply show you a house? Let a Zillow-approved agent show you homes before you’re forced to make an important decision on who you TRUST to represent you!”
The sooner agents grasp the concept that Zillow is not your friend the better. Shut the IDX feeds down with seller consent for several months and the tables WILL turn.
We’ve evolved and devolved from:
1) No agreements, Wild West to:
2) Buyer Agency Agreements with required pay agreed upfront to:
3) Free showing agreements, Wild West
It’ll be interesting to watch this change over the next 6-12 months as Zillow figures out how to lock in customers and attempt to suck more money out of the industry.
I remember when Gary Keller was fighting to keep MLS private and when he threw down over the sale of Realtor.com. Yep, it's a litigation party for the attorneys for the next ten years.
Consumers will pay a much higher price in the end.
These first few months of changes are going to be like the Wild West. Do things right, and you’ll still be dealing with all the agents who are doing it wrong until they are flushed out.
Best,
Alexa
P.S. things are already changing and the settlement isn’t even approved yet. Feel free to talk to our friends at Agently here to position your team for growth and pivot your typical agents into professional real estate consultants.