The Listing Syndication War Is On
8 Feb
Tensions are running high... Lines have been drawn... And now, there are two camps. Those Who are For Listing Syndication and Those Who are Against Listing Syndication... (See the YouTube videos below.)
I know my brokerage's stance on the subject. They are in the ARG camp.
I know my own stats and what has been produced from being on Trulia, Zillow, and Realtor.com. My experience has been that they have led to leads only if the person trusts me enough to contact me. The Central Ohio Multiple Listing System (MLS) system has been the best resource to sell any of my listings or for me to find homes for my buyers. However, I'm more willing to find a tool to resolve these issues instead of taking my ball and mitt and going home.
Side Note: The Central Ohio MLS system does NOT syndicate to Trulia or Zillow. Realtors need to push their own data to these sites.
Jim Abbot has good points about how there are inconsistencies in the data that the syndicated sites release. Really, is inaccuracy in data the transparency that Fred Glick calls for in his video?
However, Fred Glick hit the nail on the head with his statements that the Real Estate profession are not trusted. Heck, the HarrisInteractive found Real Estate Agents the least prestigious occupations as of August 4, 2009.
Real Estate really has a hole to climb out of and this latest bickering is NOT going to help the industry. Yes, there are issues with data accuracy on Listing Syndication sites. Yes, there are shady things happening on Craig's List due to listings being publicized on the Listing Syndication sites. (I should know with my own first hand experience. See Craig's List Rental Scare for more information.) Yes, we need to provide avenues for the public to trust the Real Estate industry.
I could sit here and pick apart every little thing that Jim Abbot and Fred Glick expressed in their videos. However, that will not resolve the problem. Let's address the issues that are poisoning the Real Estate Industry. Let's turn this into a win/win situation for the public so they have a better system to trust and utilize to their benefit.
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