Zillow, Redfin, Business 2.0, Homegain and a blog swap (in a pear tree)
Zillow Prompts Listing Fatique?
Is it just me or does Zillow’s announcement last week fill you with a little bit of dread?
Not because of a fear of disintermediation – but because it just became yet another place you have to worry about getting your listings to. (Whether you want to or not, is another question all together)
This list just seems to get bigger and bigger every day. real/diaBlog gives us a sampling of just some of the sites that they’re currently marketing to.
Greg really nails it with his supermarket analogy. The real estate industry has a hot product right now (listings) and everybody’s clambering to get it stocked on their shelves. The question is how to get the product on the shelves with the least amount of effort and hassle. In short, where is a distributor when you need one?
Tools like vFlyer and Postlets help address this problem and I think as long as they keep their services relatively simple and their distribution networks wide, they may prove themselves invaluable to the real estate industry. There’s a real strong business model here.
Smart agents have already begun developing a strategy to deal with all of these new online marketing options. Brokers, on the other hand, should be looking at integrating distribution platforms into their existing marketing systems, so they can be the first to offer this kind of service to their agents.
Redfin Should Call Robbie
Dustin previews Robbie Paplin’s effort to put blog posts on a map. Very slick. I could see it jiving really nicely with something like Redfin’s new Sweet Digs Seattle blog. Adding a map search interface to makes a lot of sense if there’s a local focus to your blog, such as neighborhood or, as in Redfin’s case, listing reviews. (see also Outside.in Covers Your Neighborhood)
New Real Estate Blog
The Real Estate Economy – a blog by (h/t to Sellsius°)
Homegain Chases the Pack
Homegain is quietly testing its own AVM tool. They join eppraisal.com, RealEstateABC, Cyberhomes, HouseAmerica.com and of course, Zillow. To my eyes, it looks the least polished of the bunch.
It remains to be seen how they plan on integrating this site into their lead-gen business model or if they plan on using it strictly as a way to drive traffic to their advertising partners.
FoREM Goes to RSS Pieces
As part of the Yankee Blog Swap. Mary McKnight heads over here for the day.
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Vince Talerico | Dec 12, 2006 | Reply
It’s definitely not just you Joel. Dreaded can be the word to describe the frustration I’ve had trying to upload a few of my listings to Zillo. I would like to say that their interface for adding property listings is quick and simple, but it’s just another site that generates the “still another site to input to” sighs. I think the blog world buzz should be directed the way you took it. There is a business model in place that needs some more attention, as you precisely put it.
Georges | Nov 26, 2007 | Reply
Nice