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Real Estate News and Advice |
November 13, 2009 |
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 Homestore Appoints Career Realtor As President Of Realtor.com
by Blanche Evans
Homestore is sending a strong message to Realtor.com customers with the appointment of new president Allan Dalton, a 20-year veteran of real estate and a former senior vice president of Cendant. Realtor.com is operated by Realtors for Realtors. Dalton's background is strong in creating marketing systems for franchises and brands including ERA, Century 21, Better Homes and Gardens, and NRT. He was also instrumental in the merger of operations of The DeWolfe Companies and Coldwell Banker Hunneman into NRT's Coldwell Banker New England Metro, the largest real estate services organization in New England. According to Mike Long, CEO of Homestore, Dalton was a standout among many qualified candidates for the position of Realtor.com president. ”It wasn't a quick decision,” explains Long. “Steve Ozonian did a great job and because he was able to give us advance notice, we were able to coordinate in the final decision. I've had a couple of months to get to know Allan. We knew a transition would take several months, and Steve was gracious, so the transition is going to be pretty seamless.” Word of mouth about Dalton also pleased Long. ”Allan has a depth of real estate experience,” and I got a call from Bob Becker (president and CEO of NRT) who described Allan as a marketing genius.” Dalton's job will be to expand the customer base of Realtor.com. ”Every Realtor should be taking advantage of Realtor.com's services," says Long, "and that creates a big opportunity. What's special about Allan is that he can relate to two major constituencies – the leaders in real estate and the Realtor on the street. They are the ones who buy our services and benefit from our services.” How important was it to have a well-known Realtor in the position of Realtor.com president? ”It is essential,” Long emphasizes, “that Realtor.com is a service by Realtors for Realtors. Realtor.com is here to make them more successful and profitable.” In the past, some brokers have criticized the NAR and Homestore for allowing Cendant, the operator of three of the largest franchise brands, to gain significant shares in Homestore. Dalton has been associated with Cendant for years, but before that, he was independent broker with over 20 offices in his organization. Which part of Dalton's background with Cendant was a consideration? ”I was looking for the best guy,” says Long. “I was considering any candidate that was qualified. That Allan happened to be part of Coldwell Banker, I didn't give a thought to it.” He continues, “Allen has had a heck of an access to training, and access to a large national audience. I would see that as a big positive. His national exposure was a plus, but that doesn't imply a strategic bias toward Cendant. As you get to know him, you will know that he is pounding the pavement to provide services that are valuable to all Realtors regardless of whether they are associated with large or small organizations.” Dalton's challenge will be balancing such politics with economic business of running Realtor.com profitably. ”My job is to equally serve two principal constituencies,” explains Dalton. “Realtor.com has done a tremendous job of serving the needs of the consumers, so we have to make sure the programs and the site are appreciated by the consumer because there is going to be stiffer competition in the years to come. Homestore has consolidated consumers to a degree, but unless you consolidate service, then the two can't dovetail as well. ”My first job is to see the consumer sees value, and the second is that real estate agents get value. They have a challenge that is greater than ever before. It was once adequate for a Realtor to enjoy local marketing, but now that world has become global, all agents who want to be current have to paint on a larger canvas, and Realtor.com gives them a large canvas where they can do both personal and property promotion. If all we are is a depository for listings, we are telling the consumer that's all they need - access to listings. We also have to satisfy their people need – that Realtor.com is informational, but it is also personal.” That means Realtor.com must enable consumers to connect with agents. Period. And that's something Dalton seems to understand. And that should please his third constituency - Homestore's shareholders, who are looking to Realtor.com to bring in profits by getting new business and renewals from Realtor.com's lead generation products for agents. Sales and renewals will go up if Realtors believe that Realtor.com offers not only the best value for their online marketing dollars, but that as a medium, it offers the best protection for the brokerage business model. ”No agent and no company should feel that lack of size or relationship to a company will leave them behind. Realtor.com can and will provide an even playing field,” says Dalton. “I'm very bullish on Realtor.com's future. Homestore has respect for the NAR and vice versa. Terry McDermott (EVP of NAR) is 100 percent committed that we can fortify the bond, and create better value for Realtors, or otherwise I wouldn't be moving my family across the country.” Published: October 2, 2002 Use of this article without permission is a violation of federal copyright laws. 
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Blanche is a renowned author of five real estate books. Her newest, Bubbles, Booms and Busts: Make Money In Any Real Estate Market, McGraw-Hill, was rave-reviewed by The New York Times. She was also selected from hundreds of real estate experts to contribute to Donald Trump's book, Trump: The Best Real Estate Advice I Ever Received: 100 Top Experts Share Their Strategies, Rutledge Hill Press, and is featured on page 68.
