Zillow-verload!

The last couple of days have seen a feeding frenzy by real estate bloggers, taking on the company many love – or love to hate – Zillow. Real estate bloggers and their readers/commenters have expressed every opinion in the full range from “Greatest thing ever in the world,” to “The Zillow monster is going to eat the world.” And the ones sporting the biggest grins? Zillow, of course. Their management of the news by involving influential bloggers is a textbook perfect example of viral marketing.

I’m not even going to try to recap all that’s been said. Drew Meyers has done so already, and done it better than I ever could. To me, it all comes down to how we, as Realtors®, react to the changing reality of our business. I do agree with Gregg Swann of BloodhoundBlog who said, and repeated it like a mantra, “Zillow 5 is here, and it isn’t going away.”

My view is that as a Realtor® I cannot – and do not want to – fight progress. Of course our world will change, and we should take advantage of new opportunities. Zillow is here to stay (at least for another year or so), and why should we waste time worrying about what might happen? Yes, buyers may go to Zillow to hunt for properties. Sellers may throw a Zestimate™ on the table when we come up with a different suggested listing price for their home. Some people might even be stupid enough to post ads violating the fair housing laws. These are all beyond our control.

I especially liked Galen Ward’s comment quoted by Gregg Swann:

“Zillow is just the product of the web’s relentless market and information opening power. We are leaving the time of the agent-leads-consumer model in the real estate industry and we are entering the time of the agent-coaches-consumer model.”

That’s the issue in a nutshell. Agents who insist on clinging to the idea that they control access to real estate information will find themselves left behind. But agents who see themselves as consultants and coaches with valuable expertise, they will find receptive clients.

I believe we need to take a positive approach and take advantage of new opportunities, but keep a good hold on our ethics. Take advantage of the positive aspects and don’t wallow in negativity.

Bottom line for me is that I am not too worried about new technology or the rapid growth of Zillow. I can find more important things to worry about. Certainly there are some issues with Zillow which potentially could be a problem. But my fellow Realtors® should wake up and not waste time on fighting the big Z. Turn that negative energy into a positive by bending new technologies to suit your clients and your business.

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