Like Skinner, Dause does not have a positive view of realtor.com, even though she has been listing on the platform for 11 years and pays $113 per month to list on the site. She has never closed a deal through the leads provided by realtor.com, and the platform, according to her, also displays an excess of unavailable properties. Eventually, this may push her business elsewhere.

“I am not nearly as happy with them as I am with Zillow. I think that their site is not as user-friendly, and there are a lot of contingent properties on there,” she says. “It seems like they don’t clean it out as much.”

Perhaps the most negative aspect of realtor.com has yet to resolve. Changes were made to the realtor.com platform that were voted on and approved by its board of directors on July 24 of this year. The company, which is owned by the National Association of Realtors (NAR) and operated by San Jose, Calif.-based Move, Inc., has taken action to “help realtor.com compete head-to-head with third-party listing aggregators on building a comprehensive site, including more unlisted new homes and rentals.”

These changes, of which none of the agents interviewed for this article were aware, include “amending the restriction that says Move, Inc. may display only listings that have been sourced from Realtor-owned and controlled MLSs or from Realtors. Under the revised agreement, Move will be able to obtain listings from entities that are not agent-owned and controlled and from brokers who are not agents…amending the restriction on unlisted properties. The revised agreement will allow the display of unlisted new homes and new home communities and will allow the display of unlisted properties that are for rent,” and “amending the requirement for listing broker’s consent for the foreclosure status of a listing to be displayed. Under the revised agreement, unless the listing broker objects, Move/RealSelect will have the ability to identify properties where notice of default has been recorded, auctions of distressed properties, short sales, foreclosures and bank-owned properties.” However, as always, “individual consumer FSBO’s remain precluded from the site.”

Dollinger feels that this is a negative action with regards to realtor.com’s future business. He believes that the changes will not increase traffic, and that they will likely erode the credibility of the site with advertising real estate agents.

“Essentially, [realtor.com] is saying that a platform formerly only sponsoring NAR agents is now taking non-licensed agent content. In the past, to be on realtor.com, you had to be listed with an agent, had to be licensed and had to be an NAR member,” he says. “Now, you don’t. Do I think that that’s going to be a hard thing to overcome and that there is going to be resentment about that in the industry? Yes, I do.”

While each platform offers a variety of tools for both agents and prospective homebuyers, each has the potential to be an effective investment and is largely dependent upon each individual. All three platforms have fully embraced and gone after the mobile market, with each offering an array of applications for seemingly every portable electronic device imaginable.

With such diverse options available and no clear consensus among the agents interviewed, a savvy marketer must be able to weigh the options and craft a solution that is right for his or her business, preferably one utilizing aspects of each available service. One thing is clear, however: the escalating competition and serious investment by Zillow, Trulia and realtor.com means that agents will have more options and be presented with even more innovative ways to connect to prospective clients.

Dawn Dause
RE/MAX Ultimate Professionals
Shorewood
815.954.5050
realestate@dawndause.com

Matt Dollinger
Gearbox Consulting
Chicago
773. 354.9681
matt@mattdollinger.com

David Lutman
CONLON: A Real Estate Company
Chicago
773.870.0403
dlutman@conlonrealestate.com

Dina Skinner
Meritage Realty Group
Arlington Heights
224.805.9801
dinaskinner@comcast.net