NAR to Blame for Trulia, Zillow, etc...

An alarming trend is taking shape that threatens to shift the power of real estate marketing away from real estate brokers and place the information directly into the hands of third party vendors that will change the way real estate is advertised forever. For some time there has been a clamoring for an open, national MLS that would display listings from all around the country in one place that is easily accessible for consumers. That place has existed since 1999. It's called Realtor.com. Unfortunately, while the NAR sat back, resting on its laurels and charging the very real estate professionals who they represent for full contact information to be placed on those listings, interloping, third party vendors swooped in to fill the void that the NAR (National Association of Realtors) failed to fill. As a result, these outside-of-real-estate companies have been successful in obtaining listing information from enough real estate professionals that the large, national real estate companies have been forced to pay big money to these third party listing services to place their listings on websites that are in direct competition with agent websites, broker websites and the NAR's own national MLS. Sadly enough, and, ironically,  these companies are gaining enough power and marketing leverage that they will soon be able to charge even more for the very information that is being given to them for free because the NAR has failed to keep up with the changing technologies that made Realtor.com the place for consumers to find real estate information and a national listing service.

It is not too late for the NAR to right the listing ship, but, sadly enough, it doesn't appear that the NAR recognizes the significance of this threat as it relates to the very people that they claim to represent. It would be very easy for the NAR to provide and advertise a better national listing service and consumers would welcome it as the authority in real estate. This would be a welcomed advance by real estate professionals everywhere and is exactly what we should expect from our representatives at the NAR - to provide consumers with the best real estate information available and to protect the interests of its members from scenarios like this. Unfortunately, it does not appear that the current business model of Realtor.com will allow for this change.

Ultimately the biggest loser in this fight for control of listing information will be the consumer. That is the reality that you won't hear from the third party vendors because it is they who will be the big winners at the expense of consumers and real estate professionals everywhere. They stand to profit from these developments. They are already charging the real estate community to advertise information that is already available and free for anyone to use, and, as real estate professionals who must market homes, we will have to pay more to market listings. Some people might call this blackmail. As with all business, these costs ultimately get passed on to the consumer so, in the end, the consumer is the big loser.

I am of the opinion that the NAR has no one to blame except for themselves for sitting on their laurels while allowing these people to steal the business right out from underneath them. It's a shame and only they can fix this. With help from you and I, maybe, just maybe we can save consumers and real estate professionals everywhere from these outside forces. The technology exists to make these changes happen and one quick look at the third party listing services will tell you that.

I believe a call to the NAR is in order from lots of tech savvy REALTORS to put enough pressure on the powers to be and help make them understand the significance of this threat. Please take a minute to let the NAR know how you feel.

To voice your opinion to the NAR about this situation, follow the link below.

Headquarters: 430 North Michigan Avenue, Chicago, IL. 60611-4087
DC Office: 500 New Jersey Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20001-2020
1-800-874-6500