Zillow Buys HotPads.com and what that means to the Real Estate Industry

Why should Realtors be aware of Zillow’s recent purchase of HotPads.com? Zillow continues to be the Number 1 ranked real estate website. The acquisition of HotPads.com is part of Zillow’s overall plan to dominate the online real estate market and to now include rentals into their search capacity thereby expanding their overall online presence. Why should Realtors care at all about what Zillow is doing or how they are changing the Real Estate Industry? Zillow is not stopping until it’s the number one place where buyers, sellers, and renters go for real estate searches, information, and finding Real Estate Agents.  Does Zillow Suck? NO, but Trulia is easier to use for most Realtors and Zestimates are rarely correct. First let me start off with a disclosure statement about me and Zillow. I have no ties or financial connections to this company whatsoever, but they should be paying me because I recommend to Realtors across the country to accept, use, and embrace not only Zillow, but also, Trulia, Homes.com, and Realtor.com. These companies are changing our industry. We all know this but it is crucial to understand how it’s changing and how to take advantage of that change.

It’s all about information and how that information is accessed and shared by end users. In real estate, the information comprises of active and closed listings for sale, foreclosure data, rental listings, etc. The users are both the active buyers and sellers in the marketplace. The Realtors are right in the middle of this beautiful mosaic of online real estate information and the buyers/sellers where Zillow is nothing more than the place where all this happens at. What Zillow and Trulia are basically doing is putting the MLS online for everyone to access. This is the end goal in order for these companies to achieve what they need most and that is to drive internet viewer traffic to their websites. By becoming the ultimate portals of real estate information they will be able to dominate where buyers and sellers begin their search for the real estate information they require. Although, the data online is not 100% completely accurate and up to date right now, both Zillow and Trulia are making great strides to make it that way.

Zillow Buys HotPads.com and what that means to the Real Estate Industry

The free flow of information directly to the consumer. This is what the internet revolution has done to so many other industries and had it not been for the real estate crash in 2007 we would already be there. Currently, real estate searches on the internet is in a mid-stage where dominant companies like Zillow & Trulia are building their presence and redefining what and how consumers will search for real estate online. The internet has changed many other industries and real estate is now it’s latest target. Buyers and Sellers are now finding out they can access quite a bit of real estate information online. This is making them into better informed consumers which is a good thing for everyone, even Realtors. Trust me. Not only can they access the current Active Listings in a given area, but they can also look up recently Closed Sales in that same area. On Zillow, they can even look up foreclosures in that given area and now they will be able to easily access rental listings and rates in that given area. Zillow is improving and upgrading the level of information they can give to consumers. Consumers are now having a growing appetite for this information which is unlikely to be subdued because this is what they want; a central place to freely access all of this information. Zillow and Trulia are both providing this and that is why they both dominate in the Real Estate Search Rankings. The current purchase of HotPads.com by Zillow is going to further their placement in the overall real estate world as a source for Rentals also. Zillow wants to become a one stop shop where consumers will go to for finding out how much their property is worth, what active listings are available, what closed listings occurred, what properties are available for rent, and now what properties are available for in a given area. Zillow will continue to improve their website and provide more information to consumers and the Hotpads purchase is just a piece of that strategy. This is why Realtors must accept Zillow, Trulia, and the rest of the major real estate websites. The MLS data collected by Realtor Boards and Associations across the country has been “protected” and only available to it’s membership of Realtors. However, the internet and the buyer’s/seller’s thirst for more real estate data is moving to “un-protect” this information and make it available to the public. This trend is going to continue and Realtors cannot stop that from happening. Real Estate Agents should be focused on how to utilize Zillow and Trulia into their business. Zillow & Trulia will continue to compete with Realtors for Real Estate Information online. Realtors need to focus more on providing more “value-added services”. Our control over the MLS will be maintained but consumers are comfortable with doing an end around Realtors and utilizing the data provided by Zillow and Trulia. Therefore, our control over the MLS data now becomes “less important” as a value to our clients. What are “value-added services”? That’s coming up in the next article.

Zillow Buys HotPads.com and what that means to the Real Estate Industry

Let me know what you think of this article, I would like your opinion on it. Also, if you want to get trained on how to use Zillow and Trulia properly then I’m the man to show you. You can sign up for one of my upcoming training events or I also train Realtors individually or in groups. Contact me for pricing info it’s cheaper than you think.