Six Ways to Compete against Online Models

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Association president explains how Realtors can take back control of listings

RISMEDIA, Jan. 2, 2007-During the past several years, we have seen a significant increase in the number of new Internet businesses targeting the housing industry. At times, it almost seems that we were back in the early '90s experiencing another dotcom boom.

However, on closer inspection, the "services" being launched related to real estate almost all seem to fall into three categories: lead generation; data aggregation; and specialized services, such as mapping, pricing and contact management. Several arrived on the scene with the admonition that they would "change the industry" only to have to regroup when the service they provided did not work as promoted.

We should not count on many of these new dotcoms to just go away, however. The venture capitalists that are providing significant funding want to see some return on their investments-this can lead to combinations of services and new offerings rising from failed previous endeavors.

So how do Realtors deal with these new offerings and what is the future direction we may be headed in? Here are a few opinions and comments to consider:

1. Brokers should be very aware of their online presence. How does your Web site look? Is your site easy for the consumer to navigate? Are you answering the consumer's needs through the information you're offering? What services are missing from your site that would cause the consumer to search elsewhere? How is the consumer finding your site or from what data aggregator are they being referred?

2. Before any agreement is signed with an Internet service provider, brokers and agents must be aware of and understand where and how the data may be utilized by the Web master/Web site. Many contracts between brokers and dotcom companies allow the dotcom to do almost anything they want with the data. We have seen instances where a broker signed an agreement for Web site hosting only to find that the agreement allowed the provider to utilize the data being provided in their other products. In several instances, this included a lead generation program where the broker was being charged a referral fee for consumers interested in the data they provided.

3. Realtors must take control of their listings. Consumers typically go to three or four Web sites in their search for a new home. The site that provides the most information and is the easiest to use is where the consumers will stay. Placing your listings on every Web site possible is not a strategy that provides you with useable feedback and may result in further fractioning real efforts related to data control.

4. Look for future combinations of current Web services companies that may remove the deficiencies discussed previously.

5. The impact Google Base and other large search engines may have on the industry could affect Realtors dramatically. Some sites being established today are not aggregating data to refer consumers out. These sites are designed to be destinations-this is a tremendous distinction that we are not paying enough attention to. In my opinion, there has never been a greater need for Realtor.com. We should all be looking for how we can continually improve this site and work together to resolve any channel conflicts or issues we may have with the service they provide.

6. Local multiple listing services are being challenged both internally and externally. In regard to internal issues, in my opinion, we have been too slow to adopt the changes necessary in governance and mergers/acquisitions to keep pace with the external challenges. In regard to external challenges, sometimes we move too quickly, sometimes not quickly enough, to meet and address the issues. A clear goal is being able to identify the issues that need immediate attention while also clearly looking at future permutations or unintended effects that may result from proposed action. -Walt Baczowski

Walt Baczowski is president of the Metropolitan Consolidated Association of REALTORS®. To contact him, please e-mail walt@mcar-online.com.

RISMedia welcomes your questions and comments. Send your e-mail to realestatemagazinefeedback@rismedia.com.

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