But they are competitors. They're both competing for home buyers.
If a home buyer goes to Redfin and not Zillow, Zillow loses because they monetize on their ability to sell leads to agents.
I don't know if I'd call the brokerage + portal thing unfortunate. Zillow/Trulia only control one portion of the home buying process (search/discovery), which isn't necessarily ideal. Most "normal" brokerages have trouble sourcing leads because they have poor websites, so the only way to get leads is with cold calling and networking. Doing a company where lots of leads can be sourced and worked internally by agents that all have lots of great tools and training at their disposal is a different concept, but it's not unfortunate.
Zillow is an advertising company, selling ads to brokers-- as is Trulia. Neither sells homes, they sell ad space and leads.
Redfin is a regional brokerage. It directly lists and sells houses using its brokers.
I'm not saying that there isn't merit to the Redfin approach, I quite like it.
I just think for the public it's unfortunate as a lot of people assume when they use Redfin its more of a portal than a brokerage. If they want to make their purpose and intent more clear, I think that'd be great.
I hear you. My comment below:
"Zillow/Trulia are media companies trying to connect buyers with brokers who pay them money for advertising. Redfin is a brokerage trying to connect buyers with their own brokers."
I agree that it would be nice if Redfin could be more open as a brokerage, but it makes sense to obscure the "we're a brokerage!" message from consumers, because most consumers hate brokers (other than their own broker - who is great!).
So I agree that consumers mistakenly think of Redfin like another online portal, but I don't think that the distinction one way or another matters that much. Both Zillow and Redfin put consumers in touch with brokers.
(edit: not sure why you're being downvoted - it wasn't me. I'm enjoying our conversation!)
> it would be nice if Redfin could be more open as a brokerage
https://www.redfin.com/
"WHY USE A REDFIN AGENT?"
"When your agent and your website work together you..."
"We’re full-service, local agents."
> Both Zillow and Redfin put consumers in touch with brokers.
That's a weird way of looking at it.
Would you say that BestBuy is just like Google Shopping Search -- it puts you in touch with electonics sellers. But BestBuy tries to connect you with its own internal sellers?
Anyway, Zillow has no incentive to provide high quality data / shopping experience -- they do better advertising busines when users get interested but then confused and need an agent's help. Redfin uses the website to automate as much of the agent's work as possible, freeing up the agents for the necessarily high-touch work. The better Redfin's website is, the more profit they make on a sale (lower cost to close a deal)
> https://www.redfin.com/ "WHY USE A REDFIN AGENT?" "When your agent and your website work together you..." "We’re full-service, local agents."
Yes, but Zillow and Trulia use the word "our agent" all over as well.
> Would you say that BestBuy is just like Google Shopping Search -- it puts you in touch with electonics sellers. But BestBuy tries to connect you with its own internal sellers?
Sure. You can buy a TV from bestbuy.com or amazon, or whatever comparison you want to make and from GSS. Two ways to the same means.
> Anyway, Zillow has no incentive to provide high quality data / shopping experience
I don't completely disagree, but it's incorrect that they have NO incentive. There are plenty of reasons to provide accurate data. There's a reason we spent 10s of millions at Zillow each year trying to get better data. It certainly matters.
> There's a reason we spent 10s of millions at Zillow each year trying to get better data. It certainly matters.
If Zillow cared about getting quality data, they would've become/integrated a brokerage, as its the only way to get the most up-to-date real estate data. Redfin's data is much better because of this, and it shows.
If a home buyer goes to Redfin and not Zillow, Zillow loses because they monetize on their ability to sell leads to agents.
I don't know if I'd call the brokerage + portal thing unfortunate. Zillow/Trulia only control one portion of the home buying process (search/discovery), which isn't necessarily ideal. Most "normal" brokerages have trouble sourcing leads because they have poor websites, so the only way to get leads is with cold calling and networking. Doing a company where lots of leads can be sourced and worked internally by agents that all have lots of great tools and training at their disposal is a different concept, but it's not unfortunate.