I was inspired to blog on this subject after reading a featured post by Margret Woda about getting an $850K listing from Zillow. Comments by agents went on to disparage Zillow and other sites like it. "Zestimates" were ridiculed and some agents claim to have taken a stand to stay clear of these sites. Well, let me tell you that you'd do yourself a better favor by learning to make what you think are sour lemons into lemonaid.
Fact: Consumers use the internet first and foremost for real estate. Most start their searches here before they walk into a real estate office or an open house looking to hire an agent.
Fact: These sites are generally not run by real estate agents, nor do they have the accurate information that a real estate agent has, thus the clients get a lot of inaccurate information; from too high or too low values, to listings that are not for sale.
Fact: These sites have the mega bucks to draw in HUGE amounts of buyer and seller prospects looking for information- way more than you and I will ever make in a lifetime.
Fact: These facts listed above are HUGE advantages to a smart agent. Let me tell you why.
Used to be that prospects had to come to us because we were the ONLY ones with the Listing Books that had all the information about houses for sale and sold. Now buyers can go online and search for homes, and sellers can get a Zestimate or value of their home from many web sites. So, they get the information and now what?
The smart agent uses these things to their advantage. The smart agent has a web presence to show they are the expert. The smart agent calls back leads from these web sites to say "gee, that house is already in escrow let me put you on my search system that pulls directly from the MLS so you see exactly what I see and that way you don't get excited about a house for sale that doesn't exist". A huge percentage of buyers are happy to have that kind of search and I am happy because I can now see what they are looking for and I can be proactive to send them properties that I find that I think they will like, I can send them helpful information and keep in touch while they are scouring the site for homes, and when they are ready to buy- guess who already has the relationship and gets the sale? ME!!
With sellers I use the printouts from at least three of those web sites to show them what their house is worth. "Oh look, Zillow says $327,000, Trulia says $412K, Homes.com says $380K, what do you think Mr Seller? This is what the buyer is seeing and this is why you need ME to help you to price and PRESENT the house properly in order to get your highest net profit quickly" This is my business, this is what I do all day long, I know the market.
These other agents can go ahead and keep singing the blues about Zillow and other sites. I prefer to use them AND pay to upgrade to get good, quality, buyers and sellers that need an area expert to take them on the next step in their real estate transaction, cause let me tell you- I am singing praises and doing the 'happy dance'. I am meeting the most amazing buyers and sellers and am busier that I have ever been!
Deb Espinoza GRI, ABR, ePro, SFR, CNE
Stage Presence Homes
DebSDRealEstatePro@gmail.com
good for you! We think a lot alike, since Zillow started in Seattle, I've been tracking them since their inception and I've met and spoken/emailed with the COO frequently over the years. It's just one more tool in my toolbox when meeting clients and when you understand a product then you can discuss it intelligently with your seller to compare its impact on what you're trying to accomplish. The fact that my listings post there automatically via my broker's data feed is wonderful.
I like your post. You are exactly right, Buyers and Sellers alike, really don't think they need us. Your approach helps your Buyers/Sellers understand you are there to help them make informed decisions and that requires fast, up-to-date information. While Buyers and Sellers realize it, many Realtors just don't see that Real Estate is going more virtual by the minute. How many times to you get calls from Buyers who have shopped on-line, driven by the house, checked out the neighborhood, looked at it on Google Earth and now they are ready to see inside. Our past way of working with clients is going the same way as the old real estate catalogs.
Hi Reba! You are one smart cookie and the smart survive and thrive!
Jerry- You are so right on- if we stand on the dock waiting for the ship to come back in we'll be standing there forever. We have to be confident enough in our knowledge and expertise to show our prospective clients why they do need us.
Debbie, at Raincamp Brad Andersohn gave us a great line: Zillowis the Zestimate, but we professionals are the ZACTimate. And you are right, they are the biggest kid in the sand box, so we have to get along.
Well said.
Thanks Phillip! In this business and in life we need to work with what we are given and the strong will survive while the weak and whining stand around wondering "dude- who moved my cheese ?" and waiting for them to bring it back. LOL
Debbie, you're right, we do need to learn how to use those sites to our advantage. Didn't see Margaret's post. I'll go check it out.
You are right. Consumers don't know any better about Zillow and Trulia and we should be there to help them out! Great post!
Thanks Brenda. I am having great success with Zillow and the prospects are very appreciative of my market knowledge. Zillow just brings them to me... I do the rest!