More info means.... more info?

So Zillow is now up and it's secrets are all out. So, what was all the secrecy about?

Zillow will let you find out how much a home is worth!

Wow- that's what we've all been missing. Like you can't go to about a million sites and get a FREE (and accurate for that matter) value of any home. Realtors have been giving these free home value's for decades.

So they got $32 Million and this is what they came up with?

What's next? Maybe they can revolutionize the restaurant business by telling us what the ingrdients are to over 60 Million entrees. That will show those chefs...

Client? What client...?

The greatest challenge to the real estate industry today is the real estate industry today. It's interesting how all these brokerages and agents and new companies that are trying to get in and change things all have one thing in common... they forget about what is best for the consumer. They do not put the client first. They put money first. There is this incredible focus on commissions- brokerages and Unrepresented seller sites are all marketing commissions and these new companies are trying to offer their "New" business models and "New Online Experiences" but it's all about commissions. I have hired and trained hundreds of Realtors getting into this business and I know what it takes to be successful and I also know why ninety percent of the people who get a real estate license fail. And it's not about commissions and it's not about data.

Look, one agent may say he'll market a home for x% Commission and maybe another agent will do it for z% commission and they are both probably charging what they are worth. And having more information is not the answer that everyone is looking for. It's fun to have cool home search and school information on your website. Mine does (www.saltlakecityforsale.com) too, but every single day people contact me for help finding the right home or for help in selling their home for top dollar and they are all wanting the service of representation.

Representation is not putting as much information as possible on a website and letting them figure it all out for themselves. And it's not a matter of what my commission is. It's coordinating the process and making sure they know, as they are walking through a home, all the pros and cons of the floor plan and that neightborhood and what past clients have liked about the area and which grocery stores around have the best selection of produce and which neighborhoods have an annual block party and which builders do a cheap job on their finish work and which homes can be expected to fall apart and which builders will be good with helping and which will ignore your problems, which always come with building a new home. There are a lot of differences between agents and brokerages, and choosing representation over commission can make people a lot of money in the end and at the same time allow them a better quality of life... and isn't that what it's supposed to be about...the client?

Zillow.com... another data company

Revolutionizing the real estate industry has become something of a spectator sport the last few years. Dozens of new and exciting companies have risen up to lead the way and they have all become the same thing: another real estate company.

The reason there has not been some incredible breakthrough in the industry is that it is not broken. Sure it is changing and evolving, but all industries are. Real estate is consumer driven. And it is local. The consumer drives the business and the consumer drives the innovation in the business.

Zillow, along with so many other companies will say that the consumer needs a new online experience. Yeah, well what does that mean?

It means more data!

It means they're going to give people more information, because obviously THAT is what is missing from the real estate transaction. Information is soooo hard to get these days.

The value of a Realtor today is not soley in the information they possess. It is in their negotiating contracts and coordinating inspections and appraisals and the closing and protecting their clients through disclosures and engineering reports. It is facilitating the process. And it is in taking someone's hand as they guide them through the largest investment they will ever make. It is in fighting for property rights and protecting the aesthetics of a city and getting involved and assisting with city planning. And you cannot get that from the internet.

The travel industry could be changed the way it was because buying a plane ticket is not an emotional decision. Buying a home is. Selling a home can be also. Will their new online experience help balance two people fighting through their divorce or a grieving family who needs to sell the home of their parents who just passed away and now need to sell but two of the five children do not want to?

People will utilize the services of a Realtor for the same reasons they utilize the services of an attorney. Sure you can represent yourself, but it makes so much sense to let a professional help you. And no matter how incredible the online experience is, you can't replace the human experience...