Whether they merge or not, Zillow and Trulia are ahead of us. Let’s spend our dues on making realtor.com competitive!
http://nypost.com/2014/08/15/realtors-want-ftc-to-block-zillow-trulia-merger/
The National Association of Realtors — one of the most powerful lobbying groups in Washington — wants regulators to block the $3.5 billion merger of Zillow and Trulia, The Post has learned.
The two companies, which rely on advertising from real estate agents for the bulk of their revenues, are the leading Web sites for home listings.
The trade group’s similar offering, realtor.com, is a distant third.
The three are the only national real-estate sites of scale that show what properties sell for and list properties.
“People are grumbling about the merger,” a well-placed DC source said. “They are arguing there are only three” so there should not be further consolidation.
Read the full article here:
http://nypost.com/2014/08/15/realtors-want-ftc-to-block-zillow-trulia-merger/
What about Redfin? Don’t they count?
No, they are only in select markets. He’s trying to expand (too) rapidly which will capture more eyeballs but their sales system is flawed. They have survived because their competition is so weak .
Redfin is the best. There are listings that are several days old that Zillow still doesn’t show. Zillow is also slower to show status changes, I.e., from active to pending, and pending to sold. I also prefer Redfin’s layout. I do like Zillow’s coming soon feature, at least in theory.