Later this month, REALTOR.com will be announcing that many of the Premium Services for agents (services that Premium Subscribers pay for) will soon be available to all REALTORS®. Services like multiple pictures, for instance, will be available on all listings. This will provide sellers with better exposure of their property.
This change is actually a major philosophical shift for the largest, most popular real estate site on the web. Essentially, they will be turning premium services into the new standard services and then developing new premium services. If successful, the pace of innovation at REALTOR.com should pick up and the site may be morphed from a member nuisance, to a member service. It is too soon to tell if this change will help REALTOR.com keep up with newer sites like Zillow and Trulia, but this is a positive start to a much needed change.
Ann Cummings says:
If this is true, I sure hope they’ve got money ready to start giving refunds for those who’ve paid to have those premium services. I’ll have my hand out just like many others will as well, no doubt.
Thanks for the update!
May 2, 2008 — 2:24 pm
Jeanne Breault says:
It’s about time!
I didn’t renew my premium service this year…too expensive for what you get, which is basically nothing!
I can count on ONE HAND the number of inquiries I’ve EVER received on my “featured listings.” Big waste of money!
I get more inquiries from The Real Estate Book!
Now, “featured agent” may be more beneficial…have to wait and see what goes “free!”
May 2, 2008 — 3:00 pm
Doug Quance says:
That figures.
My subscription is about to expire… and now they’re going to give it away.
Well… it’s what they should have been doing all along…
May 2, 2008 — 3:44 pm
Bob says:
Hallelujah!
Maybe there is hope.
May 2, 2008 — 4:09 pm
Barry Bevis says:
I’m with Anne- Show me the refund…
I just re-upped last month!
I hate to admit that they are consistently one of the highest referrers to my website and virtual tours.
May 2, 2008 — 6:24 pm
Dan says:
This is great news. I also had only one lead from a year of premium service with around 10 listings at all times. I have not renewed since then. This will make my Seller’s happy!
May 2, 2008 — 8:40 pm
Sue says:
Its about time. I haven’t had a lead from them in a long time and their premiums are high. Featured homes is definitely a waste of money. Took me a long time to come to that conclusion. But, just like anything else, sometimes you need to trial it for a while.
May 2, 2008 — 8:57 pm
Eric Blackwell says:
I have been a long time on that bandwagon…hey Russell Shaw…sounds like they finally sharpened THEIR pencil…GRIN.
I am not sure that saves them from irrelevance, but it certainly is a step in the right direction! Like many of those above…about doggone time! Welcome news indeed.
May 2, 2008 — 9:51 pm
Frank Borges LL0SA- FranklyRealty.com says:
Wow!
Is this April 1st?
I tell buyers all the time that Realtor.com sucks since it has 50% LESS photos. Yep, they strip all the multiple photos and then they charge Realtors to upload them, and half do. Who wants a website with 50% of the photos?
Now will the Realtors have to reupload the photos, or will Realtor.com be savvy enough to go and grab them from the local MLSes?
Frank
May 3, 2008 — 12:31 am
Christopher Myers says:
I’ve found Realtor.com to be worth every precious penny I’ve paid out. I did about 6 deals from Realtor.com last year. I’ve gotten a couple of listings but mostly buyers. I get most of the activity on my call capture # I put in every listing. With that being said, I’m happy to hear about the changes. My renewal is due about now and I’ve been wondering why they haven’t called. It was way out of character for them to not call 4 months in advance!
May 3, 2008 — 7:38 pm
Mike Taylor says:
It is about time! I still think they have a long way to go to be relevant in the crowded national listing sites, but this is a small step in the right direction. One good thing about trlia, zillow, etc. is they have really raised the bar for what consumers expect.
May 5, 2008 — 5:27 am
Malok says:
Glad to hear that the Big R is starting to try and provide some perks for its persons. They still have relevancy problems, but its good that they are at least doing something.
May 5, 2008 — 6:14 am
Sue says:
As an FYI..this is the email I got when I canceled my featured home spot….
Realtor.com is the official website of the National Association of realtors. Without Realtor.com consumers wouldn’t see your listings at all, because 1% of consumers know about the MLS search database and that’s if the realtor they are working with tells them that. Realtor.com has the highest traffic out of all the Real Estate websites in the world. We dominate the market. You will dominate your area with the featured homes system because you are seen first before any other listing in your area. We definitely do not compete with your personal websites, you are able to link your website to your listings so consumers can go from realtor.com to your personal website. It’s a win win situation
August 29, 2008 — 10:59 am
Skinner says:
I am glad that they finally multi-pictures. I think that competition from Trulia and Zillow are making them offer more features to realtors that are not premium subscribers.
December 5, 2008 — 4:50 pm