"So now, less than five years later, you can go up on a
steep hill in Las Vegas and look West, and with the right kind of eyes you can
almost see the high-water mark–the place where the wave finally broke and rolled
back."
That’s Hunter S. Thompson writing about the apotheosis
and retreat of the 1960′s counterculture from within the decidedly un-sunny
season called 1971.
I’ve thought of this passage (and, yes, trivialized it)
lately in trying to figure out where the story of Web 2.0 in real estate is
headed.
I get these questions all the time:
"What’s interesting in the category right now?"
"What do you think of Zillow?"
"What’s the killer online real estate app?"
"What do you think of Trulia?"
And honestly, my answers have been a little thin lately,
my tone a little wistful. Things seem to have stalled since the orgiastic real
estate Web 2.0 love-in at Inman last Summer, where
I, along with most everyone
else, was in the drum circle banging out:
wiki-wiki-wiki-UGC-UGC-blog-blog-blog …
Today online real estate is in a Winter of Uncertainty.
Zillow has not, and likely will not, significantly alter the real estate
experience. The company seems somewhat directionless. Trulia feels less
compelling now that so many others have joined the listings party. Few brokers
have embraced the "conversation" and become "transparent". Most agents resist
new marketing tactics because "they take too much time."
There have been positive developments or course.
FrontDoor launched (disclosure: they are a 1000watt Consulting client) and is developing a
compelling real estate media experience. And the assembly of agents who use Web
2.0 tools to transform their business continues to grow, slowly.
But the overall arc of the story bends towards slow
change, not rapid transformation.
Where does this leave us? Not in a bad place necessarily.
The drum beat hasn’t become a dirge. We just need to recalibrate expectations. The Old Way won’t crumble overnight, no
matter how many beers we have at Bloggers Connect. I think we’re going to see
more plays like Roost, which did not aim to reinvent the entire online real
estate experience, but rather took one piece of it – IDX search – and improved
upon it. Or SquidZipper, which gives agents a neat little platform for
channeling their local expertise without throwing ten other features at them.
There are more of these companies coming. We’re working
with some of them. Think about it: has anyone really nailed online neighborhood
information? Or agent ratings? Someone will. You can count on it. But it’s
going to take time.
There will be no
online real estate revolution. No
tipping point. No tidal wave of change. Just a slow rising tide that
swells almost imperceptibly, carrying upon it those who seek, in time,
the
higher ground.
– Brian Boero
Local, Mobile, Social and the future of real estate
20 Tools to Bring your Real Estate Business to the Cloud
15 Ways to Make Your Marketing Mobile
Keep an eye out for the new version of our site. We're getting closer and closer everyday to nailing it and we're by far the leader in traffic for agent reviews.
Hi Brian!
Hey, we most certainly agree with you that the "listing party" is full and have been saying this from very early on. What we're really excited about is that Voices is the fastest growing segment of our site. Buyers, sellers and agents are being proactive on Voices. They are connecting with each other by having a conversation. A quote healthy one at that. This sure beats filling out a lead capture form – which has been the norm in our industry. I seem to recall having seen an interesting video about consumers and leads
Hmmmmm?
We should also keep in mind that the climate is a little different today than it was at the last Inman SF connect. Buyers, sellers and agents alike really want to focus more on the tools and sites that can help solve their real estate problems.
The early adopters are the ones that are embracing all these new web 2.0 tools – and that in reality is not that many. The more important question is – How do we get everyone else up to speed? And I agree with you Brian – we will not see a tidal wave of mass adoption. Rather, a slow and steady rising tide.
Conversations Matter | Everyone's Voice Counts.
Rudy
Social Media Guru at Trulia
Not sure if you have looked lately, but cyberhomes does a really nice job of integrating local neighborhood data in the body of a listing detail page. In markets where off market data is also available, they also include instant CMA.
No doubt there's been a lull. Maybe its the weather, the media, the industry's tone or just the market. Some people probably feel they're too late to the party and realize they're not going to become a Featured Member on Active Rain. Maybe the RE.net has become a clique that seems uninviting to professionals labeled "Newbies". There could be a little more overt collaboration amongst the leaders to create partnerships rather than covert competition. Maybe people are simply tired of registering for new accounts at new sites that don't offer immediate ROI. Or maybe its the calm before the storm.
@Rudy: Thanks for the comment and belated congratulations on your new gig!
We're agreeing on most things here. My larger point was that the burst of enthusiasm for Web 2.0 and social media we both saw at Inman last summer has neither ignited large scale practitioner adoption or propelled one company to a dominant position in the category. The results to date have been mixed.
Brian
Not sure if you have looked lately, but cyberhomes does a really nice job of integrating local neighborhood data in the body of a listing detail page. In markets where off market data is also available, they also include instant CMA.