HAR Paves The Way, Again.

There's a reason Bob Hale, CEO of the Houston Association of Realtors is consistently recognized as one of the most important figures in the industry. I've known Bob for a while now and I think when he says the decisions he makes are for the good of his members, he means it. The Brokers of the Houston area have trusted Bob's leadership and together they have made decisions that defy conventional MLS wisdom. HAR has inked a deal with Google's "Google Base" service to provide a feed of all listings in the HAR database that have an address. It's a progressive move on behalf the members that adds a powerful new point of distribution. For the last several years the Houston real estate market has maintained incredible growth, and continues to do so in defiance of trends in other comparable markets. While Bob and HAR can't take credit for market trends and conditions, they can take pride in the fact that their progressive implementation of technology and listing distribution has helped the broker members grow their businesses at a substantial pace. The folks at HAR understand that aggressive, independent business people will find a way to succeed if they are unencumbered by the debilitating hand wringing that comes along with attitudes of doing things the way they have always been done. Take for instance the fact that discount brokers have had access to include their listings in the HARMLS for some time now. HAR hasn't had to stop the progress train to worry about the Feds. How about the relationship with the Houston Chronicle where listings are included in searches along with non-mls listings?

This MSNBC article regarding the HAR/Google deal does a pretty good job of summing up how different MLS' approach the idea of listing distribution. Personally, I think the associations should do all they can to assist the membership in exposing listings. In a world of free enterprise and an economy that is moving and changing at Internet speed, it doesn't make sense to spend all of your time trying to figure out a way to plug the holes of a system that is no longer viable. There just isn't a magic treasure box with a limited number of keys any more.

Some would say a trade association shouldn't be in the business of marketing properties and I completely agree, however, I would also say associations like HAR are not marketing the listings, they are just exposing them to as many potential consumers as possible. Marketing a property is a different animal entirely and if you take a minute to go through the listings at all price levels in any MLS, the difference in marketing skills and business acumen of the listing holder will become immediately apparent.

Adding value and unique business propositions are the domain of the Broker and/or agent. They will compete on their ability to do business better than the next guy and based upon the same rules of commerce that have existed for centuries. Why is it that every big deal struck with a technology provider is automatically slapped with a label as a back door way for the industry to be disintermediated or a new way to screw the agent out of a piece of their commission? What ever happened to trust? What ever happened to win-win or no deal? I am absolutely certain that if anything were to even come close to being unfair to the industry in the Google Base/HAR deal, the fountain of listings would abruptly run dry and it would go from win/win to no deal in an H-Town second. What should Google reasonably expect for their efforts? I'm not sure, I didn't strike the deal, but whatever it is, it should be fair and reasonable.

When a newspaper nails an agent or broker with out of this world display advertising rates they aren't chastised as someone getting in between the transaction. This despite the fact that for years, most markets have only had one paper and the rates are a "take it or leave it" proposition. It seems the web may always have it's feet held to the fire in a way that sometimes seems unreasonable in comparison to other investments. Just ask most any agent or broker and they almost always expect much higher accountability and return on investment from a technology related marketing endeavor than they have ever had for "traditional" media. The ad agency for a local Houston boutique broker was quoted as saying

"Real estate advertising is multi-layered," she says. "Agencies spend so much time and effort marketing properties and the consumer expects more now than ever."

I agree with this statement, with one big caveat, the positioning of the layers. In the long run, that's where the game will be won or lost.

The HAR membership has good reason to continue putting their trust in the leadership of it's association and can take pride in the fact that being a first mover will help the industry as a whole. It will be interesting to read the blog posts, forum entries and the Real Talk List-Serv over the next few days.

"Make Me Move" = A New Lead Resource

I wanted to let the dust settle a bit before I posted on the news regarding Zillow's entrance into the world of home listings. How do I see it? If I were an agent or broker I'd be pleased as punch that someone with whatever's left of 57 million bucks in the bank and a darling of the PR world is now going to create a new resource for me to find new leads. It's called, "Make Me Move". Anyone who owns property that has been "Zestimated" in the Zillow index can now attach a price that they are willing to accept for the property. As Joel points out, it's not an original idea. In fact, I am still scratching my head at why the industry is buzzing like a hornet's nest that just was poked with a stick. Is anyone really that surprised by this? They had to do something. As I pointed out in a recent post, the online valuation space is already getting a bit crowded. If you're going to please the VC Gods, you better be able to stoke the coals, and this was the only play they had in the book to do it with.

From what I've seen so far, no has pointed out that this could be an agent's dream for generating leads. Zillow isn't going to work as the only marketing effort for a property any better than Realtor.Com or it's ilk has in the past. Call it a national MLS or whatever you want, it's still just one more point of distribution for listing data. Sure there are some nifty new Web 2.0 tools associated with it and I like them all, but at the end of the day, it's not a magic distintermediation bullet. In fact, the API's and others features of Zillow might just turn out to be some of the more effective tools in an agent or broker's arsenal of web features. Time will tell.

Greg Swann has an extensive write up on the issue. I'm guessing his recent cuddle up with Zillow has him close to the top of the pre-IPO friends and family list. His tone has changed completely regarding Zillow. He still holds true to his original desire of disclosure regarding Zestimates. I'm not with him regarding his doom and gloom forecast for other listing sites like Trulia and Propsmart. I also don't see Zillow as being the 900 pound gorilla in this space quite yet. We still haven't heard from the real 900 pound gorilla in the AVM world. They have billions with a B and they own what Zillow doesn't. Only time will tell if Zillow's traction helps them maintain dominance in this new space.

I'll wager there are creative real estate pros that realize that real estate is always going to be local and will figure out how to convert "Make Me Moves" into new clients all the while gearing up to add their listings as just one more point of distribution in their marketing plans.