Realtor.com, which has long boasted that it has the “most accurate” data of any online real estate site, took another step toward improving its data accuracy with the announcement of new listing agreements that will provide the site with direct feeds from several of New York’s “prominent” brokerages, and a listing service, as well.
Under the listing agreements, Bond New York, Brown Harris Stevens, Compass, Halstead Property, and NestSeekers will now be sending listing data directly to Realtor.com. Additionally, brokerage listing syndicator RealPlus will also send data to Realtor.com.
“These agreements combine to provide more than 350 New York brokerage firms with the opportunity for better exposure for their listings, while turbocharging realtor.com as the go-to and neighborhood-friendly resource for consumers looking to buy, sell or rent a home in New York City,” Realtor.com said in a release, adding that the agreements will add thousands of New York City listings to Realtor.com’s national database.
And in the war for online real estate domination, the most potent ammunition for Zillow (Z), Trulia, Realtor.com or any other site is the listing data.
"Realtor.com is laser focused on enhancing its presence in the highly sought after New York City market," said Ryan O'Hara, chief executive officer for Move, which operates Realtor.com for the National Association of Realtors. "We expect a larger New York footprint will help amplify the flow of prestigious properties to realtor.com and lay the groundwork for a more lucrative digital advertising platform."
With the two main competitors, Zillow/Trulia and Realtor.com, now battling for consumers’ eyeballs and advertisers’ dollars, being the site with the most accurate listing data is crucial to success.
Over the last few months, the intensity of the fight for the most accurate listing data has increased exponentially, especially after Zillow announced it was canceling its listing agreement with ListHub, which is owned by Move, in January.
Zillow Group, which includes Zillow and Trulia, is currently involved in a legal battle with Move over ListHub’s subsequent decision to terminate its listing agreement with Trulia.
In the interim, Zillow has been busy signing multiple listing services to direct connection agreements in preparation for the loss of any ListHub-provided listing on April 7.
Move’s O’Hara has spoken extensively about “turbo-charging” Realtor.com since Move was acquired by News Corp (NWS). After Zillow’s acquisition of Trulia was completed, O’Hara sent an email to Move employees detailing his plans for the future of Realtor.com.
In the email, which was obtained by HousingWire, O’Hara said that Move will compete with the Zillow Group by continuing offer the “most comprehensive and accurate” listings.
“How will we compete?,” O’Hara asked in the email. “By continuing to build the best web and mobile experiences for consumers and the best and most valuable tools for brokers and agents, and by providing the market with the most comprehensive, most accurate and most up-to-date listings in the U.S.”
The new agreements could go a long way toward providing accurate data in one of the nation’s most vibrant and dynamic markets.
Additionally, Realtor.com announced that it has enhanced its user experience with the addition of new filters, property types and images to make searching its growing number of New York listings “more streamlined and intuitive.”
For the brokerages, signing with Realtor.com was an opportunity they couldn’t pass up.
"NestSeekers is always looking for opportunities to leverage cutting-edge marketing and technology solutions to deliver superior performance to our clients," said Eddie Shapiro, president and CEO for NestSeekers. "This agreement with Realtor.com will help bring NestSeeker's prestigious listing catalogue to a national audience of highly engaged home buyers and sellers. We're confident Move's newly inked deal with News Corp will lead to great opportunities for Realtor.com and we're excited to see what they have in store for NestSeeker listings."
