Monthly Archives: March 2015

HIS Marketing Admin 9:34 am on March 20, 2015
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Listing Syndication Update for Brokers

Changes at Zillow, Trulia and Listhub may affect where your listings appear.

zillowtruliaSignificant changes are coming to the national online real estate space with Zillow’s recent acquisition of Trulia. We have been tracking these changes and would like to provide you with an update on how it affects our MLS and your listings.

With the largest and second largest property portals becoming one entity, the entire real estate industry is working furiously to adapt. One significant aspect of this deal involves the syndication of listings from MLSes and brokerages.

Background

Like many MLSes, Hawaii Information Service uses ListHub to distribute listings to real estate search sites. In addition to helping MLSes manage these distribution agreements and monitor publisher compliance, it gives brokers the ability to log in and select which of these sites receive their listings. Until this year, those sites included Zillow and Trulia.

ListHub has been owned by Move, Inc. since September 2010, and in November, Move, Inc. was acquired by News Corp. That acquisition included Realtor.com, a competitor to Zillow and Trulia that is operated independently from NAR.

In January, Zillow announced that it was ending its relationship with ListHub. On Feb. 19, a few days after the Trulia acquisition closed, ListHub announced that it would stop sending listings to Trulia.

What Happens Next?

listhubZillow’s relationship with ListHub ends on April 7, 2015. Following a legal challenge, Trulia will also stop receiving data from ListHub on that same date. As a result, listings provided through HIS’ arrangement with ListHub will no longer appear on these two sites.

We know that the access to consumers that Zillow and Trulia provides for Realtors is important, but we also know that the syndication landscape has changed quite a bit from the days when listing data was freely distributed in the name of exposure.

Hawaii Information Service and its Board of Directors are currently evaluating a number of options, and have begun discussions with Zillow on how a direct relationship might work. Our priority has always been the thoughtful stewardship of our members’ listing information, and the ideal solution will be one that gives brokers the best control over where their listings go.

What Do Brokers Need To Do?

No action is required now, and HIS will continue to provide updates on how the MLS-to-Zillow relationship evolves. Meanwhile, Zillow is separately reaching out to MLSes and brokers to secure direct data syndication deals.

But if visibility on Zillow and Trulia is important to your brokerage, given the April 7 deadline, you may wish to start looking into their respective direct listing entry and advertising offerings (click for details from Zillow and from Trulia).

As for Listhub, while they will no longer be sending listings to Zillow and Trulia, the company will continue to work with over 150 “industry friendly” websites nationwide. Brokers can log into ListHub to select which publishers receive their listings at no cost.

For More Information:

If you have any questions or comments on this matter, please email us at syndication@hiinfo.com.

HIS Marketing Admin 2:16 pm on March 2, 2015  

March 2015 Training Schedule

Go To MeetingBelow is the schedule of upcoming online training classes for the month of March. If you’re new to REsearch, we strongly encourage you to attend an “Orientation” session on March 9.

Even if you’ve participated in a session before, it’s often a good idea to get a refresher. Our live trainers can answer your questions and help you get the most out of REsearch. Descriptions of each HIS webinar can be found here.

To sign up immediately, simply click on the links below. If you are going to participate/watch online classes as a group, only one person needs to sign up.

March 9-13, 2015

March 16-20, 2015

March 23-27, 2015

Instructions on how to register for online classes:
  • To register, please click on the applicable link located below the class. The link will then take you to the registration site.
  • Please complete all the required fields marked by a red asterisk (First Name, Last Name, Email Address, Phone, Organization AKA Office Name).
  • Click “Register Now” to complete the registration process. Once registered a confirmation email will be sent to your email address to confirm your registration along with a unique web ID number and instructions on how to login to the session on that day.
  • If you need login assistance, please feel free to contact our Customer/Technical Support team at (800) 628-3121, press # and then 457.

Remember, after you have participated, please make sure to fill out the survey or e-mail me your feedback so we can continue to improve upon our training efforts! Mahalo. 

System Requirements for Online Classes

  • PC-based attendees – Required: Windows® 2000, XP, Vista, Windows 7
  • Macintosh®-based attendees – Required: Mac OS® X 10.4 (Tiger®) or newer

System requirements apply only to the GoToMeeting webinar service, not to the REsearch system.

Questions? Comments? Please feel free to contact us via support@hawaiiinformation.com or call (808) 599-4224 or (800) 628-3121