From Online Real Estate Databases, to Gold
Realtor.com has a long and rich history as one of the leading online real estate platforms in the United States. Their goal was to match potential home buyers with industry professionals and by most measures they do it very well. Now one of the industry’s largest names, here are some facts: about their journey.
- Realtor.com was founded in 1995 as a collaboration between the National Association of Realtors (NAR) and Homestore, Inc. It began as one large real estate network collaborating with another which quickly became a trusted source for information and destination to find residential properties.
- Realtor.com continued to expand its offerings and improve its technology throughout the early 2000s, becoming one of the real estate industry’s largest online platforms in the United States. In 2006, the NAR acquired a controlling interest in the company, solidifying its position as a key part of the home buying industry.
- Realtor.com has continued to innovate and expand its offerings in recent years, acquiring several other real estate technology companies and launching new products and services. Today, Realtor.com is a comprehensive platform that provides home buyers and sellers with a wide range of real estate information, tools, and services, making it “the” trusted real estate website ranking highest among popular online real estate platforms in the United States.
The Realtor.com Business Model
The big question is: How do they make money?
Realtor.com provides home-related information, tools, and expanded services to home buyers and sellers. This is a free service in exchange for their data which, in the eyes of a realtor, is invaluable.
In turn the information is sold to a lender, a realtor, or a broker; sometimes to all three, multiple times at a sizable profit. In essence, Realtor.com is a lead generation company and has since established marketing and automation tools to package along with it. This appeals to industry professionals as the most daunting part of the business is keeping the sales pipelines full.
Beyond just purchasing leads the platform has the traffic and authority to demand high digital advertising premiums. That same realtor or lender that is investing in one leads are sure to spend a little extra for public relations and additional online marketing media. In the online advertising age, this has become an integral part of business.
Realtor.com is a realtor information network focused on providing valuable services and tools to a wide range of professionals eager to elevate their careers. It’s become a revenue generating machine through a combination of the website’s advertising campaigns, premium services, and lead generation.
A deep dive into Realtor.com – The Big Question: Is it worth it?
The value of realtor.com leads can vary depending on the type of lead and the services that are included. Some agents and mortgage lenders have reported success with the leads they receive from realtor.com, while others have found that the leads are not as qualified as they would like. Ultimately, the worthiness of realtor.com leads will depend on your independent business goals and the level of effort you are willing to put into following up and converting the leads.
It’s been said before that it takes money to make money. This is definitely an investment.
Is Realtor.com data accurate?
Like all service providers receiving date from secure direct feeds of the Multiple Listing Service (MLS), Realtor.com strives torealtor.com homes value estimations are about as accurate as they’ve ever beenprovide accurate and up-to-date information on their platform. For the most part most sites are using the same technology, so the biggest disparity in the accuracy of the information can sometimes mostly be impacted by the data provided by listing brokers. It’s important to verify everything that is critical to your home search, such as property details, location, and pricing. As artificial intelligence is becoming more prominent in the digital space we might see some adjustments in accuracy, though we won’t know in which direction just yet. Overall, realtor.com is a reliable resource for displaying property listings and gathering information on the market, but it’s always a good idea for the home buyer to double-check any important information with their realtor before making a decision.
Home values are a moving target. It’s tough to predict but a snapshot is reasonable.
Competing Lead Generation Services
Here are some of the most popular lead generation companies posing as competition as what may be reveled as the largest website:
- Zillow Premier Agent: A lead generation service provided by Zillow that helps it’s customers reach new clients and gain exposure for their listings.
- Bold Lead Systems: A lead generation platform that provides a suite of tools and services to help industry professionals grow their businesses and generate new leads.
- BoomTown: A technology company that provides lead generation, marketing, and customer relationship management (CRM) services.
- Zurple: A lead generation platform that provides a suite of marketing tools and services to help generate new leads and close more deals.
- Follow Up Boss: Another popular CRM that provides lead generation, customer relationship management, and marketing automation services to agents and brokers.
How Does Realtor.com Stand Against The Competition?
As they are a part of the National Association of Realtors (the parent company) they own the largest database of industry professionals and real estate listings. That’s a closed network their competitors will have to get through a third party.
Answers to FAQ’s
Realtor.com updates as quickly as the data is received. Normally the data is parsed once per day early in the morning.
Realto.com estimates home values based off of market trends, local sales, and general interest in the area. Estimates should not be taken as certainties.
Realtor.com acquired Opcity in 2017 and has since become a key part of Realtor.com’s real estate technology and services offerings. As a lead generation and referral service, Opcity helps connect real estate agents and brokers with potential home buyers and sellers, and provides them with valuable tools and services to support their real estate businesses.
Realtor.com does not provide crime statistics on its platform as it is a matter of public record and there are many sources that already provide this information. Instead, Realtor.com focuses on providing real estate-related information and services, such as property listings, home value estimates, local real estate information, and tools for buyers and sellers.
The CEO of realtor.com is Ryan O’Hara.
They features MLS (Multiple Listing Service) listings from more than 800 multiple listing services across the country.
They host millions of monthly visitors across the country.
