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Power to the Seller: The Unzillowing of Real Estate

Published by Joseph Ferrara (2) September 29th, 2009 in Marketing tips. Comments

unzillowing real estate

When the NAR-DOJ settlement came down in March, I wrote a post saying  homeowners would regain power over the marketing of their homes online– snatch it from the jaws of  the Zillowbot, by preventing AVMS and Q&A around their listing.

Section II 5c of the settlement gave the seller the right to disable comments, reviews and automated estimates of value from their house listing.

Zillow pooh-poohed the settlement as affecting them, since they were not a party to it.  But guess what?  It will affect them.  An MLS is giving homesellers an AVM opt-out right for their listings.

The Northwest Multiple Listing Service NWMLS (in Zillow’s backyard, fittingly), in their bulletin, quoted in part below (emphasis added), will allow sellers the right to choose to exclude Zillowish first step price tags from their property:

NWMLS will add two new data fields to the listing input sheets that will give the seller the choice of whether or not to allow certain data to be displayed with the seller’s listing. The first data field is for automated valuation models (AVM) that estimate the fair market value of the property.

If the seller elects not have AVMs appear on the seller’s listing, then Members and subscribers that display the seller’s listing must not include any AVMs for that listing. The default selection in the listing input sheets will be to allow for AVMs.

This is the rant part (look away if  you choose):

One day, real estate media websites will wake up and realize  the home is the asset of the homeowner and they have the right to control the marketing of it– offline and online.  And further, that professionals go beyond your first step baby valuation gizmo to assess price and value based on actually inspecting the house, knowing the market and gosh darn experience– when was the last time your AVM gadget did an open house?

This is the first step to home seller power over zilly Zillow.  It will only get worse, as sellers demand Zillow give them the opt-out from the first step zestimate.  I have always advised Z to do this of their own volition. They have steadfastly refused.  Instead, it will be slowly stuffed down their throats like a grossly inflated zestimate.   I am not surprised.

So, I guess that qualifies me as an enthusiast, but I’ve really only been in the Real Estate business for a few years, since launching Zillow in 2006. What a treat to have my real estate hobby now be my job. (Rich Barton, Zillow profile)

Since former airline ticket scalper seller Rich Barton has admittedly no real estate sales experience,  it is hard for the Zillowist to understand that inaccurate home valuations (even from his mighty computer greased with secret sauce) can be misleading and prevent buyers and sellers from coming together.  Shut down your home value Kool-aid stand, Richie, and get another hobby.

h/t Marlow Harris, 360 Digest (one of the best RE blogs out there) Revised rules may forbid real estate blogging.

Share This Post
  • Leanne Paynter
    The Realtor Association of Greater Fort Lauderdale has been offering homesellers an AVM & blogging opt-out of their listings for a long time now.
  • Hooray for Greater Fort Lauderdale. Any others?
  • MRED LLC (formerly Multiple Listing Service of Northern Illinois) now has two fields "VOW AVM: Y/N" and "VOW Comments/Reviews: Y/N".
  • Thanks Mark.
  • Though it is the right of the homeseller, and I agree they should have the option to opt-out of the auto-valuation sites; I do have to ask.....what client would opt out of being blogged about? I mean, a well done blog post is a great way to get information out on a listing and get some exposure.

    -Tyler
  • As long as it's truthful, I agree with you, Tyler. But the home seller has to police the blog comments. If there are inaccuracies, it takes time to have them removed.
  • Hi sellsius,

    Spencer from Zillow here.

    Zillow gets our listings directly from brokerages like Coldwell Banker Bain and Windermere, not from the NWMLS. For this reason, NWMLS rules don't directly affect Zillow because we don't have any relationship with them.

    That having been said, listing agents and their brokers, along with the sellers can choose to market their homes however they'd like. The point that is critical to remember about Zillow is that the property is already listed on Zillow regardless of whether it's shown as for sale or not: we have pretty much every home in our database already. So it's significantly to the seller's advantage to make sure that it's listed as For Sale on Zillow because posting it For Sale allows buyers to see the listing price, the photos, the property description and the listing agent contact information. We also re-Zestimate the property based on the new property attributes that the listing information includes. Furthermore, we remove the Zestimate from the Map page and replace it with the For Sale price, and we move the Zestimate down on the listing page to the bottom.

    If the seller and his agent/broker don't put the listing on Zillow, buyers still see information on that property, but they only see the Zestimate and the public facts. In short, sellers are MUCH better off having their listing on Zillow than not.
  • Spencer, do you think an inaccurate zestimate can be misleading? Yes or no?
  • Joe,
    Yes an inaccurate Zestimate can be misleading. That's not the question before us though.

    The questions are:
    1. Does a specific MLS rule affect which listings will appear on Zillow. [No, because Zillow isn't a member of the MLS, nor do we get our listings from that MLS.]

    and

    2. Is a seller better off having their listing on Zillow or not.

    The answer to the second question is an unequivocal yes. In fact, it's even MORE beneficial to the seller to have their listing on Zillow if the Zestimate is inaccurate than if it's accurate.
  • "Joe,
    Yes an inaccurate Zestimate can be misleading."

    So, if an inaccurate zestimate can be misleading, why would putting my for sale listing on Zillow, with a misleading zestimate, be more beneficial to me?
  • Rob
    An innaccurate zestimate actually gives a good agent an opportunity to reinforce his/her position as the single most accurate source for correct pricing information for a specific neighborhood. Yes we all encounter sellers who are convinced their home is worth more than current market value (this was true before Zillow and will be true if Zillow ever goes away). However a good agent overcomes this. Zestimates (along with recent sold stats, days on market stats, and numerous other current market data) are just the begining of the pricing conversation.
  • ARDELLd
    Tyler,

    The main reasons one would not blog about their listings (something I have rarely done) has to do with long term credibility.

    The blog post itself would have to be removed if you did not sell the property and a different agent lists it upon expiration.

    Comments would have to be deleted and/or edited on a continuous basis to comply with new NAR guidelines regarding blog author responsibility for blog comments and these new mls rules.

    Once you start modifying everything to fit "an advertising" standard...you cease to be a "blog" and become an advertisement.

    You also lose credibility as an agent...something no agent would ascribe to...once you establish you will only tell the truth, if and when it suits your hidden agenda to do so.

    It has long been held that blogging a listing as an advertisement sets you apart from those who understand what blogging is...or was...or should be...in its highest and best use.
  • We have those features in our MLS and have had t for a few months. It is more and IDX problem and not a Zillow problem. The point is that any IDX subscriber could then create a blog or comment section for any IDX listing and their own valuation. I could see listings get trashed in comments or valuations by disgruntled agents. Just Click no on the options when you Broker load. I tell my clients they don't need the comments or valuations from other agents associated with their listing as we do not have control over what they might say.
  • An AVM is not an agent valuation is it?
  • debrasinick
    Ironic, since Zillow's valuations are closer to the mark than they ever were in the past, at least in the Seattle area. However, I always take the valuations with a a very large grain of salt.

    I've been advertising my listings on Zillow for a long time now because I believe it is another tool to reach buyers and not because it is a great valuation tool. I feel I have to go where the buyers go to find listings and information. I'm a Realtor for Windermere Real Estate, which just announced an agreement with Zillow to post all of Windermere's listings to Zillow.

    I agree with Ardell. Blogging about your listings is advertising, it's not blogging.
  • Valuations generally closer to the mark are still not reliable in the individual sense. I agree with you, it must be taken with a grain of salt. But when Zillow aspires to be the Kelly Blue Book home valuation, consumers will perceive them as accurate and pile on the salt.
  • Debra-- how many homes have you sold using Zillow?

    I have a theory that non-MLS venues provide only incremental value in selling a home. I maintain the MLS has the overwhelming ROI for real estate listings-- I am waiting for the study to show that figure at over 95%.
  • We (media) have been so concerned about transparency and buyer's rights that the seller's rights have been set aside. What happened to the concept of "private" property? Sellers have a right to their privacy even if a home is listed for sale. They should be able to decide who, if anyone, has a right to blog/write about their home.
  • Truth
  • debrasinick
    Jf-

    Since I live in the land of hi-tech, it's hard to know which tool has been the one to attract the buyer. My team and I advertise on a large number of sites, so I cannot point to the specific one. But I feel compelled to advertise on many internet sites because of the type of buyers in the area.

    You are right, the real estate industry knows whether the valuations are too salty or not salty enough, but the general public may not. In my experience in the Seattle area, people seem to be fairly savvy in determining whether the valuations are out to lunch. I'm dealing with a highly educated, techie population, though.

    I'm curious as to how other Realtors see Zillow's values in their area. Are the valuations coming closer to the mark?

    jf, in the past I've written some "interesting" pieces on my blog about Zillow. I have a client who currently works there who told me my comments were rather "scathing." Whether Zillow is the "Kelley Blue Book" remains to be seen. However, nothing will ever replace a Realtor walking into a house to see the improvements, how the home is sited on the lot, the surrounding neighborhood, the comparables, etc. Numbers are a great place to start, but a true valuation is the result of a knowledgeable interpretation of these facts, plus a visual inspection, and an understanding of the real estate market.

    With regard to Zillow, it's a company that continues to change from one of its first iterations as a provider of valuations, inaccurate or not, to what I, and many others think, may be more of a portal for real estate advertisements.
  • Well put. Do you favor a zestimate opt out?
  • debrasinick
    Yes
  • And so do sellers. But Z doesn,t seem to care.
  • Ann Griffin here with Coldwell Banker Bain. I have somewhat reluctantly got on board putting my listings on Zillow simply because that's one of the main places my clients look. Most come to realize, if they don't initially, that zestimates are very rough and not to be compared with the detailed market analysis I do for buyers and sellers. However Zillow still offers a useful and to clients, an interesting service.

    What seems to be getting lost is the concept that the owner of the product is surely entitled to keep control of how it is marketed. I'm sure all readers have looked at online reviews of various products, and listing blogs are not much different. There is however a qualitative difference when someone writes a critical review of a $100 product because it didn't do what she expected, and someone writing critical comments of a $500,000 house because they didn't like the choice of paint colors or the cabinetry. The potential negative impact to the homeowner who has this one product and is searching for one buyer surely entitles that homeowner to decide whether or not to take the risk of exposure to casual criticism. I'm with Ardell, I do not put my listings on a blog for this reason.
  • @rob If the buyer compares the inaccurate zestimate to the selling price and is misled, you may never get the call to explain it.

    @Ann Yes, Zillow is useful to expose your listings. But if you list a home for sale and an inaccurate (misleading) zestimate scares away buyers, you may not have served your client's interest. That is why I have always advocated the home seller (listing agent) right to opt out of the zestimate.
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