So, I am an investor and realtor. I work and live in Dallas Tx and Starting January 12th. Zillow will not longer pull rentals from the MLS and put them on their site. They will charge everyone, Realtor or landlord 9.99 a week to put them on the MLS. Zillow is becoming the MLS for rentals or trying to. They have pulled realtor rentals off. Should realtors pull their for sale listing off in retaliation and see what happens? What is zillow really planning on are they trying become the MLS? Zillow scenario as MLS 1. Home owner pays flat fee. You get your home on Zillow, title package, loan package all for that fee. Showings... No realtors needed. Home owner will have open house on Saturdays and Sunday for buyers to come. Offers will be made through Zillow site. Advice on process ect. Zillow has realtors on staff that get base salary and walk you through the process. Zillow gets the house, the loan and the title.... Realtors, loan officers and title companies out of work. Zillow wins.... Should we as realtors remove our listing from them now to stop it. They just removed our rentals....

FYI my lead source # for last 12 months (at least the listing services, this doesn't count people who just call / walk in or email us direclty. This is just counting the emails we get when someone sees our listing online and pushes the "more info' button)

Should Realtors try to Stop Zillow from removing their rentals.

Russell BrazilBusiness Member

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Real Estate Agent · Washington, D.C. · Member since 2012 · 17k+ posts · 30k+ votes

5y

Will just end up backfiring. Expect apartments.com to increase market share and craigslist to make a comeback with this move.

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11 Reply

Account Closed

Realtor · NY · Member since 2016 · 55 posts · 23 votes

5y

They are taking over our business with greed, now they want to make all the money, they want to be the buyer, the seller, the realtor, the manger, the tenant screening, the rent collector, the title company, the lender, and if you want to business through them you must pay. the got so much leverage and market share, if all realtors pull out their listing for one month Zillow will get humbled and stop the monopoly game, each one of us should share his view on social media platforms so this doesn't get overhand, because if Zillow makes it to educate the market place that realtor and useless then we are gone. but Zillow needs our money to use it to educate the market and take more leverage.

let's stop this greed, while individuals are making a simple living, those monopolies are trying to make billions to hold in the banks.

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Greg H.Pro Member

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Broker/Flipper · Austin, TX · Member since 2013 · 4k+ posts · 4k+ votes

5y

@Account Closed

So you are advocating forcing a private company to carry rental listing for free? While Zillow may have a large market share in your area, in many areas they are irrelevant

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Account Closed

Rental Property Investor · Temple, TX · Member since 2012 · 42 posts · 31 votes

5y

@Greg H. What Ahmed is describing is called a monopoly where they try to control an entire market, aka the real estate market. When this happens it prevents other new businesses from being able to compete. If small businesses cannot compete then this country will die, because small businesses are the lifeblood of this country. So you think putting small businesses out of business is good?

Zillow is everywhere. It is highly unlikely to find a town that Zillow doesn't have a listing. They were a good company when they provided a service to search listings from everyone now they are trying to push the little guys out and take over everything.

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Account Closed

Realtor · NY · Member since 2016 · 55 posts · 23 votes

5y

@Greg H.

I think they should make money but not a monopoly. I think they can charge a fee but not $ 2 per house per day ( yes two dollars per house per.) I grantee you that they will lose the leverage they got if they keep this Way, the only reason they are that strong is that they been so long in the game and provided a nice free platform for listers , ( well not totally free ( they been charging realtors since day one for leads ). LOL of course they deserve making so much money but not all the money !!! so what! Now we don't need realtors and we don't need lenders and we don't need property managers, because this one-stop-shop can do it all by force. the same way Amazon did it. ( so now the guy that owns a small neighborhood electronic store is working as a driver for Amazon. Don't take me wrong I love intrapreneurship, I'm actually an intrapreneur but IF one day I get the power to destroy other people's careers so I can increase my net worth from 20 billion to 40 billion I'll not do that.

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Greg H.Pro Member

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Broker/Flipper · Austin, TX · Member since 2013 · 4k+ posts · 4k+ votes

5y

@Account Closed

Feel free to follow all my posts since I upset you!

Where to start. Zillow is hardly a monopoly. Zillow made the decision to transition from being a Portal to a Brokerage. Previously, while acting as a Portal, Zillow received virtually all of their listing via a feed from local MLS systems. Every time a Realtor listed a property in MLS for rent, it would appear on Zillow as well as other sites such as Realtor.com unless the agent "opted out"(That feature is not available in all areas)

Why the change for Zillow? Several reasons including the desire to get in the brokerage business and the desire to have data contained within the MLS. Their vaunted Zestimate has been worthless in Texas since we are a non-disclosure state. Their ability to have this data will change that

So, this will result in other sites that carry rentals such as Realtor.com and Apartments.com to increase their exposure in the rental listing market

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Greg H.Pro Member

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Broker/Flipper · Austin, TX · Member since 2013 · 4k+ posts · 4k+ votes

5y

@Account Closed

My response to Michael above should help explain the Zillow situation

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Bruce Lynn

Real Estate Broker · Coppell, TX · Member since 2011 · 5k+ posts · 4k+ votes

5y

We've been preaching this years....watch out...you give them your data for free, and then they sell it back to you.

We're all to blame for depending on 3rd parties.

We should develop our own better software.

You might want to in turn charge them fees to list their listings on your portal if you have a good one.

7 Reply

Amy VergesBusiness Member

Investor · Baton Rouge, LA · Member since 2014 · 128 posts · 138 votes

5y

I've spoken with a lot of other property managers and landlords about this and none of them will be paying the $9.99/week to list rentals. Just my opinion, but I think Zillow is shooting themselves in the foot with this move. Their value has always been that they're a one-stop shop for any and all listings for the consumer. I agree with @Russell Brazil that this will probably just open up the market for their competitors.

If realtors really wanted to throw a punch, they should stop allowing Zillow to pull sales listings from the MLS unless Zillow agrees to also pull MLS rental listings. That would really have an impact on Zillow's value if they were to lose all the MLS sales listings.

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Russell BrazilBusiness Member

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Real Estate Agent · Washington, D.C. · Member since 2012 · 17k+ posts · 30k+ votes

5y

Originally posted by @Amy Verges:

I've spoken with a lot of other property managers and landlords about this and none of them will be paying the $9.99/week to list rentals. Just my opinion, but I think Zillow is shooting themselves in the foot with this move. Their value has always been that they're a one-stop shop for any and all listings for the consumer. I agree with @Russell Brazil that this will probably just open up the market for their competitors.

If realtors really wanted to throw a punch, they should stop allowing Zillow to pull sales listings from the MLS unless Zillow agrees to also pull MLS rental listings. That would really have an impact on Zillow's value if they were to lose all the MLS sales listings.

Keeping listings off Zillow is no longer an option. They have brokerage licenses in most states, and will be in all of them by the end of next month it sounds like.

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Greg H.Pro Member

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Broker/Flipper · Austin, TX · Member since 2013 · 4k+ posts · 4k+ votes

5y

@Bruce Lynn

Zillow is becoming a becoming a brokerage just like the rest of us. So they will be able to use IDX to pull listing and pull data just like the we do. On the flip side, they will also be subject to the same rules and standards that we as Realtors are

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JD MartinBusiness Member

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Rock Star Extraordinaire · Northeast, TN · Member since 2015 · 10k+ posts · 17k+ votes

5y

Well, what we should really look at for the problem is ourselves (collectively, as a society). No one wants to pay for anything on the Internet; the ethos has developed that everything online should be free. So no one looking for a property to rent is going to pay for a service to find rentals. The money has to come from somewhere, so where should Zillow get it from? They get it from the people that want to list rentals on a platform that has enormous outreach.

Go back in time and look at virtually everything online that tried charging end users; virtually all of it failed. Where's the "fee-based" version of Napster, the formerly free music share platform? Oh, that's right - no one wanted to pay for music so they went under. Plenty of other examples.

That doesn't mean that Zillow is guaranteed to be the go-to spot. Someone else can come along, create a better platform, lure away all the content providers, and kick them out of the market.

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Amy VergesBusiness Member

Investor · Baton Rouge, LA · Member since 2014 · 128 posts · 138 votes

5y

@Russell Brazil Ahh that makes sense. I had heard about them getting their license in most states, but didn't put two & two together.

@JD Martin I think their value is in the information and users. If they lose that, the site will no longer have value and will die. Advertising is how they make money. Facebook is a great example: Zuckerberg has gone on record stating that he'll never charge his users. He understands that the users and their data are what makes his company valuable. As long as that value exists, advertisers will pay. Zillow just has two sets of users, but in my opinion, it doesn't make sense to charge either of them if it's at risk of losing them. BUT I could always be wrong. They've certainly created a flourishing successful business, so maybe it'll end up being the right move for them.

Side note: iTunes made a killing coming in as the paid version of Napster. Same with Spotify once streaming became an option.

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Adam Martin

Rental Property Investor · Member since 2020 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes

5y

Keep in mind I’m not a realtor and don’t have mls access with this post. Many businesses start off as free to try to gain market share and when large enough will start to charge users as they are the go to platform. Zillow is a publicly traded company and their stock is seeing huge gains in the last year. I don’t want to pay but I’m not going to risk additional days on the market due to not being willing to spend 10/week, one extra day of rental would cover a month of their fees. It is where a lot of people shop and if I used a pm I would insist that it was on there. To put things in perspective many of us want to use their product for free for listings like we used to which I understand. Would you also be willing to post my rentals for free on your brokerage or pm site. I love that others are going to stop using it as that is where many look and it is less competition to me but with that said I do think this is going to be a boost for apartments.com and realtor.com.

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Dennis Wayne

Member since 2020 · 339 posts · 356 votes

5y

I don’t doubt Zillow will make realtors obsolete eventually and I’m ok with that . Let’s face it realtors are pretty useless middlemen in this day and age so I’m not surprised to see them advancing into this field rapidly . Facebook marketplace is superior to all other platforms so I doubt you’ll see Craigslist having a comeback , all just scams on their site these days

1 Reply

Greg H.Pro Member

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Broker/Flipper · Austin, TX · Member since 2013 · 4k+ posts · 4k+ votes

5y

@Dennis Wayne

I can kind of see the argument as to Realtors being useless to an experienced investor. However, keep in mind the vast majority of people are not investors and purchase a home every 5-10 years or are first time buyers. The same goes for sellers. These people need their hands held throughout the entire process. Many of my flips are hundreds of miles away or even outside of Texas and I usually list with a Realtor for this reason

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Dennis Wayne

Member since 2020 · 339 posts · 356 votes

5y

Originally posted by @Greg H.:

@Dennis Wayne

I can kind of see the argument as to Realtors being useless to an experienced investor. However, keep in mind the vast majority of people are not investors and purchase a home every 5-10 years or are first time buyers. The same goes for sellers. These people need their hands held throughout the entire process. Many of my flips are hundreds of miles away or even outside of Texas and I usually list with a Realtor for this reason

I could see Zillow having a 9$ an hour foreign “ case worker “ or Zillow home representative “ walk the average person through it just like setting up a pc or satellite tv service . The automobile industry has seen this transition away for some time now . I suspect the days of the million dollar agent will be gone

0 Reply

Greg H.Pro Member

Moderator

Broker/Flipper · Austin, TX · Member since 2013 · 4k+ posts · 4k+ votes

5y

Originally posted by @Dennis Wayne:

Originally posted by @Greg H.:

@Dennis Wayne

I can kind of see the argument as to Realtors being useless to an experienced investor. However, keep in mind the vast majority of people are not investors and purchase a home every 5-10 years or are first time buyers. The same goes for sellers. These people need their hands held throughout the entire process. Many of my flips are hundreds of miles away or even outside of Texas and I usually list with a Realtor for this reason

I could see Zillow having a 9$ an hour foreign “ case worker “ or Zillow home representative “ walk the average person through it just like setting up a pc or satellite tv service . The automobile industry has seen this transition away for some time now . I suspect the days of the million dollar agent will be gone

Zillow has become a brokerage and is licensed. Since unlicensed assistants cannot be offering advice or engaging in real estate activities that will not be happening in that manner

FYI- Before someone brings it up, while I list myself as a Broker, it has been at least a couple of decades since I represented buyers and sellers for a living so I have no dog in the fight. I am a Broker for my own benefit

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David I.

Banker · Louisville KY · Member since 2019 · 26 posts · 10 votes

5y

So Zillow just took down my pictures for my rentals today. My question is - not only do I use Zillow (only occasionally now with the recent $9.99) to post rentals but I use it as sort of a showcase for my rentals.

For example when I talk to a lender I send them Zillow links with pictures to the properties I have rehabbed. I will send links to prospective tenants while I am rehabbing a property to show them what the finished product looks like.

With Zillow now removing my pictures what other sites do you all use to show your rentals?

Thanks.

0 Reply

Matt M.

Specialist · Easton, PA · Member since 2018 · 1k+ posts · 2k+ votes

5y

@Lewis McKnight

As soon as the $ charge started for me at Zillow, I stopped using them. FB marketplace has proven to give me 5x the leads, for free.

1 Reply

Ola Dantis

Multifamily Syndicator · Houston, TX · Member since 2016 · 1k+ posts · 2k+ votes

5y

@Lewis McKnight Honestly, no one wants to pay for anything especially since we have been so spoilt as the freemium generation.

I have used Zillow and Zillow Rental Manager, and that tool is fantastic as it helps with the background check and tenant screening.

Now, let's be clear: Agents also pay for the MLS as part of their dues, so I think it is ok for Zillow to charge users (landlords and/or agents) who want to leverage the reach Zillow has managed to build over the years on a freemium based model. They are now starting to charge.

Now, if the fee is too much one can pay for the week or two to put up an ad and then take it down after placing a tenant. These technologies will win if they figure ways to provide value to users. We can never fight it just like how Uber disrupted the taxi industry and change our thinking when it comes to transportation.

Some people still don't like Uber but damn that tool is fast and efficient and it just works. That is why people use it and pay for it.

Value always wins in the marketplace.

3 Reply

Daniel SmythPro Member

Rental Property Investor · Rockford, IL · Member since 2019 · 471 posts · 342 votes

5y

@Lewis McKnight

A realtor has MLS access without Zillow.

This is like crying because Redfin decides not to list without a fee.

Its about making money. If you are a realtor and don't subscribe to an MLS service because you want to save money, why dhod Zillow do it for free?

I never complain about spending money on something that will make me money. Used to be that adds in the newspaper were free. They decided they wanted to make money, and they do well calling the adds classified!

You don't need to advertise. You can put a sign in the window are get renters too!

[email protected]

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Lewis McKnight

OP

Real Estate Broker · Dallas, TX · Member since 2016 · 17 posts · 16 votes

5y

All interesting comments thanks for commenting everyone. So I don't know how all states work, but in Texas. Each major area has an MLS. So Dallas/Fort Worth... Austin, Houston ect... The MLSs have control of their data. (ie the houses.) They own that data. The realtors with in these MLS pay to be apart of the MLS and put their data ie houses for sale on the MLS. The MLS then give access to this data to realtors in that MLS. ( Live in Dallas but don't have access to Houston MLS) Some realtors pull this data to their websites via IDX ect. BUT the MLS owns this data. NOT Zillow not the realtors. Yes realtors can pull their own listing off, but they can't pull someone elses.

So my north Texas MLS would not give Zillow the Solds. The MLS owned it and Zillow did not get it. About a year or so go. Zillow came a knocking.... They wanted our solds and they were willing to pay for it. WHY??? because data is KING. I don't know what happened, but I know our North Texas MLS wanted to sell it to them and keep all the money and Zillow was going to pay them.

So my point is this most MLS system give their data for fee via IDX to realtors. Zillow becomes a realtor and gets that data for free or for a very small dollar amount. That data is everything and we are giving it away for free. Zillow has the platform now and after a while they will have the realtor's business too. IF we don't as MLS and realtors stop them.

Make no mistake Zillow is the enemy. Also the MLS system is the realtor monopoly that has made realtors alot money. Realtors are now giving that monopoly away for free. If we continue to do so. My guess is with in 5 to 15 years. Realtors will have a 50 to 75% pay cut or be salary.

Guys, Rich Barton is in control of Zillow. He has also been apart of these two companies He helped start Expedia it took down the travel Agency, And he is on the board of Netflix. It took down Blockbuster. He is running Zillow and he wants to take down the realtors.

2 Reply

JD MartinBusiness Member

Moderator

Rock Star Extraordinaire · Northeast, TN · Member since 2015 · 10k+ posts · 17k+ votes

5y

Originally posted by @David I.:

So Zillow just took down my pictures for my rentals today. My question is - not only do I use Zillow (only occasionally now with the recent $9.99) to post rentals but I use it as sort of a showcase for my rentals.

For example when I talk to a lender I send them Zillow links with pictures to the properties I have rehabbed. I will send links to prospective tenants while I am rehabbing a property to show them what the finished product looks like.

With Zillow now removing my pictures what other sites do you all use to show your rentals?

Thanks.

We maintain our own website, which also has our application, policies, etc. It's cheap and effective. We point potential tenants to that site from Zillow, Apartments, etc. So far the vast majority of our tenants have come from Zillow. Our last 3 vacancies where we had to pay the $10/wk, the house was rented in one week. But even if it had taken a month, $40 isn't enough to make me do something different.

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Anthony GaydenPro Member

Rental Property Investor · Omaha, NE · Member since 2014 · 2k+ posts · 3k+ votes

5y

@JD Martin

Facebook Marketplace is a potential Zillow killer when it comes to listing rentals.

Podcast Guest on Show #21

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Should Realtors try to Stop Zillow from removing their rentals.

Should Realtors try to Stop Zillow from removing their rentals.

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