Just as discount brokerage houses have taken a bite out of stock broker's incomes, there are those that predict the launch of Zillow- a web-based business that allows home buyers and sellers to get a "zestimate" of a home's value, could eventually reduce the fees realtors now enjoy.
Amy Bohutinsky left a job in San Francisco to become the Director of Communications for othe Seattle start-up. It is her job to present the company's brand message, and field questions about the company's "real purpose."
There is a great deal of interest in Zillow. It' launched as a BETA site back in February. Bohutinsky says it could be months before the site is ready to officially launch. Part of the reason is that Zillow currently has data on 65 million single family homes in the U.S. The goal is to have that data on all homes--a whopping 85 million.
As Bohutinsky says it is incredibly time-consuming and difficult to get the data because there isn't a national database. Rather, Zillow has to extract data from county to county --all through the country.
There are some that predict that the company is a threat to the livelihood of real estate agents. While Zillow now allows consumers to get their housing "zestimates", Bohutinsky says there are many more tools they plan to make accessible to consumers. And, it is this access of information, that realtors once held as their own, that has experts wondering " What will this mean for realtors?"
That is a question, Bohutinsky is not prepared to answer.For the time-being, Bohutinsky isn't talking about the future implications to realtors. Instead, she says Zillow is a "media company" - providing information to consumers and getting revenues from advertisers. While there are some that predict Zillow will eventually become a discount real estate brokerage firm ( much like discount online stock services), Bohutinksy says,Zillow is in the business of providing consumers with research tools.
She says, " we will continue adding tools and information to help people through the process. We have no plans to buy and sell homes on the site."
Click on the audioacrobat icon to listen to Bohutinsky's entire interview.
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