According to Real Trends;
Half of all brokerage firm leaders oppose permitting the display of listings on certain social media sites while the other half doesn't think it is a problem. Should such a policy be approved, however, almost 9 out of 10 (88%) agree that the name of the brokerage firm supplying listings to any social media sites should be clearly identified for compliance purposes. And nearly 9 out of 10 (85%) favored an “opt-out” provision for display on non-participant sites.
This means that 50% of real estate companies are against listings being shown on certain social media web sites. When the listings are shown 88% of real estate companies believe the supplying company's name should be clearly identified.
It's simple really. In pre-internet era, any real estate company who listed a property for sale had exclusive right to advertise the property anyway he or she chose. The listing agent/broker could put an ad in a newspaper, magazine or other periodical. When the property was advertised, the property must clearly show the listing real estate company. Advertising another agent's listing was strictly prohibited by rules in most cases.
In the digital era, while the mode of transportation of information has changed to such physical items as laptops, tablets and smartphones, the principle of showing a listing hasn't changed at all. When a property for sale is displayed, the listing company and listing agent want their information displayed.
What's interesting here is the choice of words that state that "the name of the brokerage firm supplying the listings to any social media sites should be clearly identified." Did you get it? Did you see the word? The word is... "supplying".
The words don't mean the listing broker or listing agent information should be displayed. Although it's possible that's what most respondents were trying to say. The words mean the company who supplies the listings to the internet outlet.
Well whoop-de-do. Any Tom, Sally or Harry that can get a real estate license and become a member of the MLS can get access to the IDX feed. From start to finish this takes about a week and a few hundred dollars. With the IDX feed, or property feed from the MLS, they can then find an internet vendor to show the listings.
The best part about this? According to the survey, the listings have to show the supplying real estate company info not the listing company info. This is exactly what the supplying company wants. They can then put on some type of lead capture system to collect the information of thousands. Then hopefully out of the thousands of people, they will be able to sell or close a couple of deals.
The percentage of closings to leads? About 0.4%. Meaning you have to talk to 250 people before you can close a single property. A simply task for an outsourced call center or new real estate agent who answers a help wanted ad because she desperately wants to be involved in a real estate career.
What's even more interesting is that the survey claims the reason they want the supplying company to be shown is so that action can be taken against the company if a violation occurs. Or as the report states:
...it must be a rule that the broker responsible for sending the listing to that site must be clearly identified so they can take responsibility for display policy non-compliance.
What's laughable is that sending IDX property information not listed by the broker to a third party web site is in itself explicitly against MLS rules. The further issue is that rules are either not enforced or the penalty for breaking the rule doesn't hurt enough for the violating person to stop doing it. In most cases, the outcome is a reward for the violating person. Seems to fall inline with the present culture of our country's business and policatial climate.
The people profiting from this don't want things to change. The people not profiting from it are too ignorant to know what's going on.
So what's the end result of an industry who fails to set clear rules founded in honesty and further fails to enforce them? Will the lines between what's right and wrong be blurred so much that crossing the line is no longer recognizable? How would you feel if your listing which is the result of being deeply involved in an equestrain community for decades was being used by an individual who never set foot in the community but used the listing online as a way to fool unknowing buyers and agents as a way to increase their business?
Somehow the view of the internet has to change from allowing anyone to display listings with access to IDX info into being an advertising outlet that requires the listing broker's or agent's name displayed clearly as the primary contact. In the long run, anything less is unacceptable.
