Mashup + Social Media = Zillow
Posted by Pat Kitano at 4/8/2007 10:22 PM 
Categories: Technology, New Business Models, social networking
Categories: Technology, New Business Models, social networking
Last week, I was speaking with a Bay Area broker/owner who had an IDX website with no traffic. The site had already become obsolete in part because it didn't have a mashup listings map and its MLS interface is slow and awkward for consumers. For brokers, it's become a much simpler exercise for their web designers to add mashups, even through licensing, and it's surprising this simple task hasn't been done. Here's a sample survey of SF Bay Area brokers, big and small, who use mashups on their sites:
- List of Bay Area brokers with mashup listing maps like Trulia's: Alain Pinel, MLS-2, Movoto, Paragon, Re/MAX (new feature), Windermere
- List of Bay Area brokers with no mashup listing map: Cashin, Coldwell Banker, Intero, Keller Williams, Pacific Union GMAC, Prudential, and all small independent broker/owner websites I checked. Note the big national names.
Last month, I sounded the call to real estate agents that bloggers are locking up "Google real estate" (I estimate 95% of agents in America aren't even aware of this internet "land grab"). A similar call goes out this month to brokers who need to understand the new dynamics of how the internet will affect their real estate marketing. Social media is here to stay and the first brokers to develop an interactive site that includes blogs, interactive features between consumer and agent like Q&A and wikis, and innovative mashups that marry listings with local content will win this game.
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From what I'm reading, Coldwell Banker may wind up top dog. They are throwing a lot of money and resources at the Internet.
http://www.rismedia.com/wp/2007-04-04/are-you-really-reaching-consumers/
Not to mention their investment in Second Life.
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I think that a lot of brokers are finally getting it. The problems that they face is figuring out how to design and implement this new comprehensive online plan and then being able to train their associates on how to utilize all of the new tools.
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That's why I started a consulting group...
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