The people from realtor.com who were experimenting with an agent-rating site dubbed, ‘AgentMatch’ gave up the fight today – before it even started.
From the realtor.org website:
http://www.realtor.org/articles/realtorcom-concludes-agentmatch-pilot
We learned a few things in this experiment. We learned that using an algorithm to “match” consumers with REALTORS® is misguided. A computer cannot find the best Realtor for someone, just like a computer cannot place an accurate value on a home.
There will likely be more finger-pointing and blame to go all around, but the bottom-line is this: they wimped out.
They assembled a 16-realtor advisory panel to fine-tune the package, but only had one conference call. Sure, one of the 16 quit already after KW and others started with the usual complaints about agent-ratings, but you don’t quit – not when you are already behind.
The president says it in his surrender letter:
As you are aware, our competitors are moving ahead with their solutions regardless of industry involvement. In an age of reviews, ratings, big expectations and small attention spans, we wanted to create a service that would place facts, and the REALTORS® behind them, front and center.
Zillow and others are stomping on the gas pedal, and the only chance realtors have to maintain some control is to create our own website that is better than the rest.
Zillow already has 4x or 5x the visitors as realtor.com. Placing “the facts, and the realtors behind them, front and center” is a great idea – please do it realtor.com! What else do you got? You better have something, and quick, because Zillow is eating you alive.
Here is the article from IN on the same topic, with more comments from brainless agents at the bottom:
