Suse B.

More manipulation of internet content and how it is accessed/presented to us…
Now from Zillow/Trulia!

Zillow has separated FSBO listings (now known as "Other Listings") from MLS listings (now known as "Agent Listings") AND the "Agent Listings" are given priority…shown first, under an exclusive tab. Listings are also shown on two separate maps! This is a violation of the public trust and so dishonest…let me tell you why:

This change is misleading — in this curtent format, the different tabs are not noticeable; the "Other Listings" tab (for FSBOs, foreclosures) is very faded because it's in the background, and the MLS "Agent Listings" are automatically displayed first (and may be the only listings displayed if a user does not see the "Other Listings" tab and aren't aware of this change).

Before this change, MLS and FSBO listings were combined. I have been informed (and have a relative who has been a team leader at Zillow HQ for a number of years) that this strategy has been part of Zillow's business plan all along — that strategy being:

1) To first get Buyers and Sellers ‘hooked' on using Zillow by providing a free and easy way to research markets and obtain a huge variety of info and photos/maps of all kinds of properties…all at their fingertips and unfiltered (for use in conjunction with their Realtor or independently).

2) Then as planned, once almost anyone buying or selling property is using Zillow in some way (Zillow listings are even prioritized in web searches, so people are taken to Zillow with one click via a web browser), Zillow separated and prioritized "Agent Listings"(MLS)…guess why…because Zillow has launched an additional product and brought "Agents" on board with them (as an additional service offering (?), at an additional cost). Interesting coincidence…?

I have absolutely nothing against Realtors, and I respect these and all hard-working, honest professionals…there is a place and enough business for anyone who delivers great customer support. FSBO is a viable option for some Buyers/Sellers, while a relationship with a professional Realtor may be a fit for others. As a FSBO Seller, I compensate Buyer-side Realtors and have worked well with them, always, and Buyer's Realtors do not mind in the least. I have used Zillow since 2004 to market and sell our various homes and lots (over this time, 6 of our 22 transactions included Buyer's Realtors, and we used Zillow to market all) and for finding properties to buy (with and without Realtors). As a FSBO, I do all the work, showings, questions, contacts, and contracts through certified Escrow Agents and Title companies — all Buyers and Realtors have been extremely confident in our relationship and the results.

Back when Zillow started, Realtors were up-in-arms — and now, FSBO Sellers are not provided equal opportunity/access to Buyers and Realtors…and vice versa. Actually, Zillow even has their "Call Agent" and "Message Agent" buttons below the FSBO listing heading and their "Contact Agent" information within the FSBO listing AND THERE IS NO AGENT, EXCEPT ZILLOW's OWN AGENT FORCE/RELATIONSHIP. The position of these buttons and tabs — along with the lack of a clear description that these are options, not required — leads users to believe that that's the way to make contact with a Seller. Zillow has their own tribe of "Agents"…great!

Now that we've all figured out how to use Zillow well, and all types of Buyers and Sellers and Realtors are getting along with each other and their "service," Zillow implements Part 2 of their strategy and hidden agenda — and we users even trained ourselves only to find that we're now generating leads and listings for Zillow's "Agents." I have to say, if FSBO Sellers wanted a listing agent, we would engage our local licensed Realtors (who are possibly our own friends/business partners) NOT use some random connection to a Zillow "Agent." If I were a Realtor, I would be extremely worried — Zillow has Agents…?

This is unethical on every level — a violation of Truth in Advertising and Real Estate Best Practices/Codes of Conduct — and we all took the bait (really, we were led on). This is just another case of a huge internet-based corporation that was made successful by "the people" now manipulating data and how information is presented to us, all for the almighty dollar! So much for professionalism and conducting business in good faith! The public "built" Zillow — and now they're almost a duplication of the MLS and using we, the public.