Originally posted on LinkedIn by Greg Hague
More real estate articles particular to Northern Virginia home owners and future home ownershttp://www.comehomevirginia.com/blog/ or on Facebook
How would you feel if you received this?
"Dear Greg,
I've been in real estate 14 years. This business provided an education for our two boys, a secure life for our family, and afforded me the gift of waking up each day in charge of my own destiny.
I am truly sickened by what's happening to our profession. Zillow and the big corporations don't care about us, our clients, or our industry. Their "we're here to help you" is an act to keep us in line and keep us paying. Make no mistake, they would throw us and our families into a breadline to increase their profits and bonuses.
While I applaud your efforts, I fear you are wasting your time. Our fate is out of our hands. We are being displaced by powerful people who are using technology to pillage a profession they don't know, don't respect, and don't care about. They only see dollar signs.
You were the subject of our last office meeting. We believe your heart is in the right place but we also believe you're fighting a fight you can't win.
Thanks for trying,
Meredith"
Are we an industry resigned to defeat? Tech execs want us to believe that our future will be determined by technology. That is not true. Our future will be determined by us.
They lob grenades while we dig foxholes. Zillow and others employ armies of techies who capture our clients, get in our wallets, and hold us hostage for business that should be ours anyway. How do we respond? We buy leads and give them our listing feeds.
We give our lunch to the bully who kicks us on the playground. The people who fleece us and attempt to displace us only exist because we empower them with our listings. We hold the cards but don't act like it.
Travel agents and bookstores didn't fight back. Bookstore owners and travel agents were not displaced by technology. Their weakness was fragmentation. Their downfall was inaction. They didn't lose the battle, they didn't even fight the battle. Now it's happening to us. https://stopzillow.com/
Our problem is leadership. No one is leading, no one is inspiring, and no one is bringing us together as a collective force. We must learn to compete for business while working together to protect our business.
Agents lack control. Real estate agents don't have enough influence in their profession. For example, six times more buyers find homes online than through yard signs, yet the top home search websites (Zillow, Redfin, Realtor.com) are owned and managed by people who have never sold a home.
What is the solution? The first step is for the people who sell homes to control a primary website where buyers look for homes. Logical, right? This website will be what Realtor.com could have been if NAR hadn't sold it.
An agent-owned website would benefit everyone. Buyers would receive more accurate information and sellers wouldn't have interested buyers diverted to agents who don't know their home. There would be no online valuations (you must see a home to value it) and no FSBOs (those who don't contribute shouldn't benefit).
How do we get there? We start by having people with deep real estate experience build a prototype "best ever" home search website. This won't be hard because Zillow and the other major websites aren't designed to sell homes, they are designed to sell leads. Our website will help sell our listings instead of using our listings to take advantage of us.
What do we do next? We let every agent in America demo this new website free... to ensure it's everything it should be. When everyone loves it, we raise $50,000,000 through a "Regulation A" securities offering only to agents and brokers. These funds would fuel a massive TV, print and Internet marketing blitz to attract buyers away from Zillow (and others).
Existing projects don't cut it. There are many well-intended website projects, but none can bring together our industry and regain control of our customers. Most are lead generation sites or alternative MLSs. Not one has a viable funding plan or marketing strategy to take buyers away from Zillow, and none will unselfishly cede ownership to real estate agents.
It begins in a few days. On September 19, 2017 we will take the first step to building your website, an industry-unification website to take back control of our buyers and our future.
Can we count you in? Thousands of agents across America have volunteered to help with our launch on September 19th. It should take less than an hour from your office or home. PLEASE VOLUNTEER by emailing This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to receive our leadership sharing packet.
Why am I working so hard? Fair question. My mom and dad were Realtors. My wife is a Realtor. My youngest son is a Realtor. Entrepreneurism in real estate made me financially free. I don't want to see that opportunity taken away. I intend to end my career doing something important for a profession that's been great to me.
Please volunteer on September 19th. I need your help. Our profession needs your help. Every Realtor who feels like Meredith needs your help.
Join thousands of agents across the country who are concerned about our future... and intend to do something about it. Because Northern Virginia Homes and homeowners matter stay up to date on area events real estate how to DIY and much more more info available ComeHomeVirginia.com or on Facebook
Relax we've got your back whether you are looking in Alexandria, VA currently live in Fairfax, Virginia or maybe you are interested in what is going on in Arlington, Virginia? if so one of the best things to do would be to check or follow us on social media sites our primary purpose is to educate and inform so that you can and will make the best choices possible for you and your family #DaveMartinRealtyGroup #ComeHomeVA #VirginiaHomes
