NeighborCity Serves Up Recommended Agents
NeighborCity is an real estate search site that operates in 20 markets across the country. Like Estately and a handful of others, NeighborCity is also a brokerage and as a result, gets access to the MLS and is able to display all the active listings in those markets.
But NeighborCity is taking it one step further. It’s also displaying all the active agents in those markets and suggesting them alongside any searches done on the site. Right now it has profiles built for over 45,000 agents.
The premise is pretty simple, really; say I’m searching for a $400K single family home in the 97219 ZIP of Portland, Oregon – in addition to all the property listings that meet my criteria, NeighborCity is also going to suggest the best agent for my business. In this example, it says it is Dave Hrabal of Windermere.
They’re calling the service AgentMatch and it uses a proprietary algorithm to rank agents based on their relevance to the user’s search criteria – based on variables like price range, property type, neighborhood and the agents’ past performance.
If they’re interested in seeing the home, the buyer can choose to contact any of the suggested agents and the agent can respond to the inquiry with additional details on their commission structure and/or their individual specialties. Consumers get to stay anonymous until they’ve chosen an agent to work with.
Agents can also claim their profiles to provide more information to prospective clients. Presumably, there is some sort of referral fee paid out for any clients that come through the site.
We’ve seen agent matching sites before (Incredible Agents and Homethinking spring to mind) but this is the first site that I’ve seen that marries agent discovery so close to the property search touchpoint. It’s rather like the recommended items on Amazon.com – and I kind of liked the experience.
While it’s bound to be controversial (as any kind of computer generated valuation generally is) – what I liked about AgentMatch was at least the promise of editorial neutrality. Unlike Trulia or Zillow’s pay-to-play advertising model, which as a consumer I’d typically disregard. In theory, the algorithm should surface the best agent for my needs.
What I would like to see however, is greater detail and transparency on how the AgentMatch suggestion is generated. Currently – there’s really no explanation provided as to why the agents that are presented are suggested. And that’s the biggest shame really.
No sense telling me the who without telling me the why.
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Geordie Romer | Leavenworth WA | Nov 12, 2009 | Reply
It looks like a sharp website, but results were weak for my area. Basically it only showed agents who were members of a neighboring MLS since they don’t have access to our MLS data. The worst local agent is probably a better choice than their selection. This reminds me of the out of area agents on Zillow listed as “Local experts” who couldn’t tell me the county Leavenworth is located in, much less the schools, the mayor, etc, etc.
This is why I mostly amused by the RPR discussion. It may have a big impact in the big cities, but no one seems to have our data and listings figured out in small town America. Zillow, Trulia, Cyberhomes, Altos …. their data is always wrong, incomplete, and misleading for my neck of the woods.
I think the future is less about these global supersites, but more about the niche hyperlocal sites that can provide excellent info that is very specific and detailed.
Jonathan Cardella | Nov 12, 2009 | Reply
@Joel – Thanks for your review of NeighborCity and for pointing out how we’re bringing transparency to the industry by enabling customers to locate the most qualified local real estate agents for their request, based on past performance and empirical data.
We are actively working to show customers how we derive our results by providing a more robust review of each agent, how we score transaction, and ultimately why they will get a better result by working with this agent over the average agent in the market. We are on track for a new release by next quarter with these features.
@Geordie – I appreciate your comments but want to clarify them. NeighorCity does have access to the NWMLS but not NCWAR, which would potentially improve results when seeking Leavenworth, WA real estate agents. With that said, the agents returned on that page are local Leavenworth real estate pros, such as William Lindstrom who is ranked #1 and handles Leavenworth properties almost exclusively, or Kelsey Arness, both of Lake Wenatchee Realty in Leavenworth, WA.
I couldn’t agree more that buyers and sellers must use local pros if they want to see results, that’s why we invented Agent Match®. Agent Match® scores agents based on their expertise relative to the subject property using location and property criteria. This gives the customer an edge in their transaction and typically much better results.
Jonathan Cardella
CEO/Founder, NeighborCity
Josh | Nov 12, 2009 | Reply
Geordie,
No question that Leavenworth needs a niche real estate site! I mean…you are the town that decided to become the Bavarian-themed in the 60’s. I am not really sure that niche sites exist yet and based on the CEO’s reply, there seems to be data issues with the transaction tracking people. With only a brief run at the site, don’t they match with an agent based on data not who pays them? In the end, at least they seem neutral. Either way, cool interface and much better than the other guys at a first glance.
Geordie Romer | Nov 12, 2009 | Reply
“we’re bringing transparency to the industry by enabling customers to locate the most qualified local real estate agents for their request, based on past performance and empirical data.”
I would get in trouble if I posted past performance and empirical data on other agents.
Perhaps you would like to share with us, what kind of data you are using?
I don’t want to make a big deal of this, but the lack of data that you, Zillow, Trulia have for small markets is embarassing.
Sometimes as a professional I just have to tell my clients “I don’t know.” I wish you would too.
Michael Erdman | Nov 15, 2009 | Reply
Thanks for the thoughtful post, Joel.
If I understand correctly, this site takes a buyer’s property search inputs, plugs them into an algorithm (all of which are inherently biased – this one apparently favors top producers, among other things), then ranks and recommends the “best” or “most qualified” agents for the buyer. As you observed, it’s presently unclear what weight the algorithm gives to what variables.
Doesn’t this mean that EVERY buyer who runs a search for a $600K 3bed/2bath home in San Jose is going to receive the exact same agent rankings/recommendations? How can an agent be the best/most qualified for ALL buyers? Don’t buyers have different needs/preferences?
As a (savvy?) consumer, I’d prefer to have direct access to relevant and meaningful information about local agents that I can evaluate and weigh for myself, based upon my own particular circumstances. In this information age, why should I be satisfied with a cookie-cutter approach to finding the best agent for me?
Michael Erdman
President & Founder
AgentsCompared.com
houses for sale tn | Nov 16, 2009 | Reply
The transparency should be dealt properly to avoid misunderstanding among agent’s operation. Direct handling of the business operation is a good way to monitor this,an on-hand handling.
Overland Park Homes for Sale | Nov 16, 2009 | Reply
I agree with you Joel, the why would be nice to know. The top match that was returned for a search inquiry I did for the city I specialize in returned an agent I know who specializes in representing builders in 1 new home subdivision(in a city with a population of over 165,000 people). In the past year this agent only was on the buying side 5 times and all of those transactions were in this agents own new subdivision. I am not taking anything away from that agent, they just specialize in working with builders in a one specific new home subdivision, is that really the best match you found in the entire city to meet my needs as a buyer?
Jonathan Cardella | Nov 16, 2009 | Reply
@ Geordie – Thanks again for your comments. Our data is derived largely from local MLS data which we find to be the most reliable source of metrics pertaining to real estate agent performance.
@Michael – Yes, if two buyers are simultaneously searching for the exact same type of home, price range and location, they are going to receive the same results. Of course, the agent rankings are updated daily, taking new transaction info into account. Since we use objective, empirical data, we return the most experienced real estate agent for each request. We do not rely on subjective user reviews and ratings to match agents and customers on other criteria other than deal flow and results on a hyperlocal basis.