miOaklandCounty.com

For years now, Dmitry and I have paid for enhanced listings on Realtor.com. Essentially this allowed us to do things like:

• Display additional photos (buyers LOVE pictures)
• Add more text than we can have on the MLS
• Display our virtual tours
• Add open houses to Realtor.com
• Make our listings stand out a bit on Realtor.com

Realtor.com is the most visited home search portal on the web with millions of visitors each month. Though I know that there are sites that present more information and in a nicer looking format (our own Oakland-County-Homes.com included), I can not deny the importance of Realtor.com in marketing a home.
So, I am not displeased that our brokerage, SKBK Sotheby’s International, will be enhancing ALL of it’s listings on Realtor.com starting immediately. Well, I did like being one of few in our marketplace that recognized the importance of this, but I see this as another major marketing differentiator that SKBK Sotheby’s can provide sellers in the uber important realm of on-line home marketing. I am not aware of any other firm in Oakland County making the same commitment to it’s clients.

Interestingly enough (or not, depending on your point of view), this week the Northwest MLS in Washington state decided to stop sending it’s feed to Realtor.com when their contract expires in April. Since Washington is a hotbed for controversial new internet-based real estate companies, I thought this must have been part of the decision, but this is what a representative of the Northwest MLS had to say on the topic:

“The purpose (of the MLS) is to aggregate listings data gathered from the member brokers and to disseminate that aggregated to the member brokers.” In this Internet era, it has become “redundant” for the MLS to do what brokers can already do themselves, he said. “It’s very easy to disseminate (listings data) anywhere you need to.”

So, the issue of where our listings are displayed is still a big issue in this industry, and we are going to see some big changes in the coming years.

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Written by Maureen Francis
SKBK Sotheby's International Realty, 248.430.4450
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