WRAR - Helping Brokers to Reclaim Their Listing Data
Marilyn WilsonFounding Partner of WAV GroupBoard of Trustees for the National Small Business Association
Jody Wainio, SFR, WHSBuyers Choice Realty2014 WRAR President
David Eggleston Jr., ABR, SFRIntracoastal Realty2013 WRAR & MLS Director
WILMINGTON REGIONALASSOCIAT ION of REALTORS®
Reasons for Formation of Listing Syndication Taskforce• Broker and Customer Complaints of Inaccurate data• Putting brokers back in control of their Data• New focus from NC Real Estate Commission
Jody Wainio, SFR, WHSBuyers Choice Realty2014 WRAR President
WILMINGTON REGIONALASSOCIAT ION of REALTORS®
Process of Building Recommendation• Surveyed Broker-owners • Formed Taskforce of Large Broker IT staff,
Brokers from smaller firms, agents from all size firms
• Several meetings, several studies and materials reviewed by group
• Evaluated alternative syndication service providers
• 3-month process • Board of Directors Approved Proposal;
marketing taskforce formed
Jody Wainio, SFR, WHSBuyers Choice Realty2014 WRAR President
WILMINGTON REGIONALASSOCIAT ION of REALTORS®
Recommendation Approved:• Discontinue syndication by WRAR as of May
9th, 2014 • Did not renew contract with Listhub – current
syndication services provider• Marketing taskforce contracted with third
party to help communicate outcomes to members
• Recommendation does NOT affect IDX or VOW policies in any way
Jody Wainio, SFR, WHSBuyers Choice Realty2014 WRAR President
What is Listing Syndication and how is
it different than IDX and VOW?
WILMINGTON REGIONALASSOCIAT ION of REALTORS®
What is listing syndication?
• Method for brokers to authorize distribution of their listings to third parties like Zillow, Trulia, Homes.com etc.
• Syndicating enables a broker to post their listings online for display to consumers.
• Any broker who is an MLS Participant may authorize syndication of his/her company’s listings ONLY.
• Syndication is NOT to be confused with IDX policies.
WILMINGTON REGIONALASSOCIAT ION of REALTORS®
WRAR Listing Syndication Taskforce
Rationale
WILMINGTON REGIONALASSOCIAT ION of REALTORS®
Reasons for Discontinuing Syndication• Could not support sending REALTOR®
data to non-REALTOR® organizations• Data accepted from many sources, not
just REALTORS®• Creates confusion and mis-information
for consumers
David Eggleston Jr., ABR, SFRIntracoastal Realty2013 WRAR & MLS Director
WILMINGTON REGIONALASSOCIAT ION of REALTORS®
Reasons for Discontinuing Syndication• Data provided has more inaccuracies than
broker websites; More than ¼ of the listings listed for sale are not active currently
• Taking on broker liability for inaccurate advertising of listings risk without significant lead generation and impact
WILMINGTON REGIONALASSOCIAT ION of REALTORS®
Reasons for Discontinuing Syndication• Many brokers opt in to all channels and then
« set it and forget it »
• Majority of our members did not even know they had opted-in to all channels
• Allow brokers to make their own decisions about syndication with the realities of today’s
online marketplace
Promise of Listing Syndication
WILMINGTON REGIONALASSOCIAT ION of REALTORS®
The Original Premise/Promise
• Listing syndication will provide FREE exposure to listings
• Put your listings where consumers are shopping – online
• Online will replace costly offline newspaper advertising
WILMINGTON REGIONALASSOCIAT ION of REALTORS®
Reasons for Participation in Listing
Syndication Today• Provides exposure to your listings especially for
consumers that do not know you yet
• Helps agents secure new clients with the “Quantity” Story;
• Perception that it is necessary to be competitive
Update on Listing Syndication
Third Parties Dominate Online
UHAUL.COM
HOMEFINDER.COM
NCI Interactive
Connectwithlife.com
REDFIN.COM
Internet Brands Real Estate
FrontDoor
LoopNet Sites
Century 21 International
Coldwell Banker
AOL Real Estate
Apartments.com Sites
MSN Real Estate
ForRent.com & Homes.com Network
Realtor.com
Trulia - PRIMEDIA Network
Yahoo! - Zillow Real Estate Network
0 5,000 10,000 15,000 20,000 25,000 30,000 35,000 40,000
1,5161,5191,5362,1812,1912,3772,4102,8393,5483,5523,6694,374
5,37111,842
17,72822,065
33,372
Total Digital Population Mobile
REALTOR.com is #3 now
Mobile now more than 2/3 of total traffic
Local Brands do not Lead
Dominate in Mobile AND Websites
Page 48Page 41
2/3 of traffic now captured from mobile devices
• All Syndication Sites are NOT created equal - Nearly 95% of
property views coming from 3 channels
• Less than 1 click-through per listing per month
• Less than 1 in 4 listings receive an inquiry every month
• 41 of 52 Syndication Channels provide 20 or less inquiries or
email across ALL listings
Local Syndication Results
Accuracy Higher on Broker Sites
Data Lags on Third Party Sites
For 28401 Zip Code
WRAR.com – 130 listings
Zillow – 268Trulia - 220
Inventories can be overstated
Listing Agent Does Not Get Top Billing
“THE” source for Agent Referrals
630,000 Reviews Nationwide In Just 2 Years
THE Local advisors
Calling the market
Affordable Technology Offerings and Education
50,000 agents pay on average $271 per month
Affordable Technologies
On-going Marketing Education
Defending against the Zestimate
Price $325,000 Zestimate $225,964
Other Concerns
• Re-Syndication Forwarding data on to another (unauthorized) site
• Unauthorized usesHave you affirmatively agreed to your data being
used on “Powered by” sites
• Use for 3rd Party Integration (Sindegration)
Broker Responses to Listing Syndication
Stay the Course
Many believe they CANNOT pull out of syndication no matter what
Simply Turn it Off
• Well-known family-owned business in Wisconsin
• #1 Market Share; Strong online position - #2
• Gained market share
Never turned it on in the First Place
• 3 to 5% Market Share
• Never turned it on
• Focused efforts on their own website
• Did not affect recruiting, retention of listing presentation success according to company
Focused Efforts with Largest Sites
Pittsburgh – 5000+ Agents
• Chosen two syndication partners and promoted heavily with them
• Removed listings from all other sites
Jim Abbott recognizes
power of MLS Consumer
Website
Promote the MLS Site and your own Broker Site
How to Inform Your Agents
WILMINGTON REGIONALASSOCIAT ION of REALTORS®
• Simply Turn it off and Do Nothing • Educate them; Show them Lack of
impact• Demonstrate lack of lead conversion
vs. other sources• Update listing presentations highlight
power f MLS website and IDX/VOW sites• Invite them to attend Webinar – March
12th at 2:00 pm EST
Next Steps
WILMINGTON REGIONALASSOCIAT ION of REALTORS®
Discontinuation Date: May 9th, 2014
The MLS will no longer send your listing data to any third party site. Third party vendors should remove brokers’ active listing data.
If you want to continue syndication send email to [email protected]
Questions?
WILMINGTON REGIONALASSOCIAT ION of REALTORS®
To submit a question go to Questions in Gototraining and type it in:
For More Information go to:http://www.wrar.com/syndication
For help go to:[email protected]
Questions??
1. We know that the franchises will continue to syndicate whether they have a choice or not – the little guy says how do I continue to syndicate in order to compete in a cost-effective way? Give our brokers the talking points about consumers shouldn’t care about syndication? If you want to continue send an email to [email protected] and you will help them.
2. Realtor.com – are we still going to syndicate to them? Yes3. Why did we choose to stay with REALTOR.com and not with the others – they have a
direct feed that is more accurate than others and follow the code of ethics – they also hold the realtor.com brand. We’re giving them a direct feed that is updated every fifteen minutes
4. Does this mean that you are going to cut off IDX feeds? No, this does not affect IDX in any way.
5. What will be the cost for me as a small firm to syndicate on my own? We will not leave them in the lurch – email us at [email protected] and we’ll help you figure it out
6. What would WRAR recommend that we do for syndication for our brokerage? It’s really not up to WRAR – it’s a business decision for you to make for your company
7. What if our firm decides to syndicate via another syndication services provider, will WRAR support us in that effort? Yes, send an email to [email protected] and well do our best to help you.