Where Real Estate Gets Its Dirt

What everyone (including me) is missing about Zillow’s acquisition of ShowingTime

I was talking with a tall and smart MLS exec (he made me write that) about the negative response from agents and brokers about Zillow buying ShowingTime, and why it’s not going away anytime soon.  He said, that the underlining issue is not about the privacy of data, but more related to Zillow now being a broker in nearly every MLS market in the country.

“Greg, what agents and brokers are really pissed off about is their money contributing to the bottom line of a competitor.  Their MLS, which they pay dues to, is now pro-actively funding another broker’s business.”

Now, you could argue if Zillow is really competing with the average agent, but when you shift to “Zillow is now a broker”, it cuts both ways.

  1. Not to detract from what you’re communicating here Greg, but how many of us read the quote and mentally apply the speech pattern of the “tall and smart MLS exec” we have in mind?

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