It was only two short months ago that we embarked on our podcast series “Zillow’s Instant Offers – Is This the Final Blow to the Real Estate Business?”, exposing the drama and the outrage over Zillow’s announcement of its Instant Offers program. Though the pilot program has only launched in the select cities of Orlando and Las Vegas, the word was out and agents were furious, fretting and Facebook sharing the petition to Stop Zillow ad nauseam.
In our podcasts we laid out a plan on how to outsmart instant offers by creating your very own program. Most of which was well received and had many a grateful agent thanking us for helping them turn their mindsets around about this. Others, as always, remain skeptical and continued on in protest.
No matter what side of the fence you’re on, we want you to hear one thing: Zillow is a competitor. Don’t believe anything short of that. Instant Offers is just the beginning of Zillow’s foray into the real estate referral space. If you don’t think there’s a place for what they’re doing….one that’s substantial enough to cause you to learn how to fight back, then its likely you’ll be left out in the cold when the program expands.
After the three part series, the Tim & Julie Harris page began blowing up with comments from agents all over the country. Some were with us, some not so much, but it stirred a heated and emotional debate. We may have even seen a little fur fly…!
“The real goal is to make happy buyers and sellers. If Agents can do that well they earn money. If agents’ influence the market to the detriment of buyers and/or sellers,there is a place for Zillow.” – Ed Byrd, California
“Zillow reminds me of the wolf that comes to the door for scraps and sooner or later you become the scrap. We created Zillow by giving them access to our MLS and now it seems like they are out to destroy us. D O N E.” – Tim Collins, Idaho
“Tim Collins, that was always their plan. At first our company didn’t allow our listings on Zillow but since every other agent did, we had no choice. I agree 100% why did we give them access to begin with…. for free & then we pay them for leads???” – Elisa K. Reed
“I laugh when I read these comments. When Zillow, Trulia, and other sites started, I immediately noticed Realtor’s advertising their services and listings on them. I questioned them then. This is like going on 15 years or so now. ‘Why are you helping a group of people who want to be your competitor build their company?” – Carl Schumacher
“Nope. Just keep doing the work. This too will pass. Houses will not sell them selves. After a couple of huge $$$$ lawsuits, reality will set in.” – Pat Hilliard, Texas
“Just another income stream for Zillow. 75% of their revenue comes from agents who don’t know how to market for buyers and turn to them for leads. The second that stops their machine will grind to a halt. It’s really smart on their part, the old “chicken or the egg” question. Do you make more money from having the listing and getting buyers or having buyers and listing the houses they need to sell?”- Ryan Harthan
“Realtors have known for years this was coming, yet they remained silent thinking/hoping Zillow would go away. Guess that’s not likely to happen any time soon.” – Anne Ryan, North Carolina
To read more of the agent commentary on this topic, visit our Facebook page and join the discussion! See you on the next Real Estate Coaching Radio podcast!
