Misleading Article From Zillow

[Terrel L. Shields]

"Rocket Mortgage"

Gee...I thought they were saying "Crock 'o it"....I guess it wasn't a truth in lending statement after all

 

[RSW]

Hey, I like the Rocket Mortgage commercials. I have been really busy since they started airing.

 

[normando]

I don't like Zillow because it's not easy to use. I rather go to Trulia or Redfin for quick check on information on a property. I only use Zillow because it's quicker to get into than my MLS if I need to confirm a comp address. Or like last week I notice it had more active listings than my MLS. Agents now delay putting their listings in MLS to keep more of their commissions.
I can explain the defects of Zillow but why help them improve their product.

 

[Michael P Jacobs MAI]

Everything is circular; No need for Agents / No need for Appraiser's / No Need for Builders ?? IMO, so called "hand holding" in the RE business has slid away, but at some point someone will want an Agent with them to point out the items of interest. How to structure a contract ? Options for funding ? Home Inspectors ? Referral business ? Eliminating Total Human contact is not creative and lacks options/interactions.

Yes, recall that cutting out the middlemen is called disintermediation - we haven't heard that word in a while but Zillow and all the rest will keep working at it. They had to back off of their original model because they were threatening the real estate professions and couldn't quite deliver without them.

AVMs are an example of a disintermediation that has worked to some extent, replacing appraisers where the margin of error is considered acceptable by the AVM consumers. The Zillows of the world will continue to improve their estimator models and with improving cell video and communication they'll connect "on-call" pay advisers, as they originally intended (helping create a viewing list for a buyer, scheduling and then adding in contract, title, etc.). As technology empowers real estate owners, it also tends to shrink margins for the real estate brokers for several reasons, weakening their model and reducing the appeal to "everybody's mom" to get a license.

Look at what it's done to appraisal revenues and the difference it takes now to bill $350,000 vs. ten years ago! I don't feel that we'll be disintermediated before the brokerage model, but the pressure for faster-better-cheaper is impossible to check.

 

[Terrel L. Shields]

Zillows of the world will continue to improve their estimator models

Some properties are simply impossible to value within any estimator model. They simply don't have the tools to do it. Property may be selling on the value of the enterprise and thus they misjudge the value driver. Once the land value exceeds a small part of the total property, the accuracy falls off a cliff.

 

[GWISC]

Mike Jabobs. I agree, but I think the shrinking margins has more to do with the fact that most if not all info is available instantly. For example; prior to assessor's putting their info on the internet, the underwiters had to trust we had the correct info on the comparables size, price etc... Same goes for the MLS. RE brokers clients trusted that the CMA's were accurate and had no way of double checking their work.

UW's now look over the same set of data as we have and second guess our results. Potential listing clients can also pore over data on the internet to see if the lender missed a comp.

In the old days, appraisers and brokers had the key to the information and we guarded it. You could only get the info if you were a member of the local MLS with most if not all requiring that you were an appraiser or broker. Lenders knew we were the only source for the research and trusted us with our summaries. Now, everybody with a computer can unlock the once sacred vault of information. The free wheelin world of technology is good, but has consequences to our way of doing business.

 

[GWISC]

BTW, double check Zillows sales prices. We have found a few incorrect ones and this seems to be a more common occurrence than in the MLS.