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The Private MLS Threat: How Agents Survive the Listing War · The Real Estate Agent Playbook

• 0:00
  here's the question nobody wants to ask
• 0:02
  in the middle of this giant industry circus between Compass Zillow
• 0:06
  Redfin and the MLS
• 0:09
  are real estate agents actually prepared to market a property
• 0:13
  better than Zillow better than Redfin
• 0:15
  better than those sites are
• 0:17
  marketing sites are fully focused on the consumer and their behavior
• 0:22
  I don't mean just saying you can
• 0:24
  during a listing presentation
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  while pointing to a fancy canvas slide
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  or a drone shot of a kitchen island
• 0:30
  I mean actually doing it because right now
• 0:33
  enterprise brokerages boutique firms
• 0:35
  and individual agents
• 0:37
  are trying to pull homes away from the open market
• 0:40
  they're looking at sellers in the eye saying
• 0:42
  trust us
• 0:43
  our private network can create more demand than the general internet
• 0:49
  consumer LED
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  Zillow's and Redfin's
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  and all of the other places where homes are listed
• 1:00
  if we are going to make that promise
• 1:01
  we better ask the uncomfortable question
• 1:04
  can we really outperform the open platforms
• 1:07
  where consumers are already searching every single day
• 1:10
  this conversation has to shift
• 1:12
  this isn't just about whether a massive
• 1:15
  big box brokerage wins their lawsuit
• 1:17
  or if the MLS board gets their way
• 1:20
  this has massive implications for the consumer
• 1:23
  and we need to start acting like it
• 1:25
  let's set the stage
• 1:26
  because we are watching a listing data war unfold in real time
• 1:31
  brokerages want more control over the inventory
• 1:34
  portals want everything pushed into the open
• 1:38
  meanwhile
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  MLS's are just trying to hold together a system built on cooperation
• 1:43
  while dealing with massive pressure
• 1:46
  from the biggest players in the game
• 1:47
  on one side you have private exclusives and coming soon strategies
• 1:51
  on the other side Zillow and the portals are stepping in
• 1:54
  arguing that if a listing is publicly marketed
• 1:58
  buyers shouldn't need a secret handshake
• 2:00
  or the right agent connection just to see it
• 2:03
  and this is where I struggle
• 2:04
  enterprise brokerages and even some of the larger boutique brokerages
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  are basically cruise ships
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  they're massive systems heavy with compliance
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  marketing departments and local rules
• 2:15
  making them incredibly slow to turn
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  are they actually equipped to market a property in a hyper
• 2:20
  local market better than syndicated search sites or the open MLS
• 2:25
  before we tell a consumer that our private system is superior
• 2:29
  we need to honestly ask if the ship is even built for that
• 2:33
  a private network is only valuable if it creates real demand
• 2:36
  otherwise it is just a smaller room with better branding
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  so let's set down all the corporate jargon and the back and forth
• 2:43
  let's look at this entirely through the eyes of the consumer
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  starting with the seller
• 2:48
  when a listing agent pitches a private exclusive
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  or a phased off market strategy
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  the psychology of that pitch is incredibly powerful
• 2:56
  it sounds elite it sounds like the velvet rope treatment
• 3:00
  sellers are told they can test the market
• 3:02
  float an aspirational price
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  and completely avoid the public stigma of days on the market or price
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  reductions for a seller who is nervous about the process
• 3:11
  that sounds like a safety net
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  but we have to look at the economic reality behind that illusion
• 3:16
  the strongest seller strategy has always been basic economics
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  expose the property to the largest qualified buyer pool
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  create maximum competition and let the market dictate the peak price
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  supply and demand right
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  exclusivity sounds luxury until it costs the seller leverage
• 3:35
  when you restrict a property to a private brokerage network
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  you are artificially shrinking the buyer pool
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  you're removing the out of state relocation buyer
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  who happens to be browsing Zillow at midnight
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  you're removing the buyer
• 3:48
  who is working with an agent at a competing brokerage
• 3:51
  you're taking the basic principle of supply and demand
• 3:54
  and handicapping the demand side of it
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  and in most cases violating MLS rules
• 3:59
  which is honestly the real estate agent's lifeline for what
• 4:03
  so
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  the seller doesn't have to have a price drop recorded on the internet
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  that is a very expensive trade off for the illusion of privacy
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  now flip the script and look at it from the buyer's perspective
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  buying a home is already one of the most stressful
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  high anxiety financial events in a person's life
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  imagine what happens to the consumer experience
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  if the fragmented
• 4:24
  private network model actually becomes the new normal
• 4:27
  buyers will no longer be able to open one of two apps
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  and to see the entire market
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  to understand what is actually for sale
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  a family would have to search Zillow
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  Redfin the local MLS app
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  five different enterprise brokerage websites
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  and a handful of private agent networks
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  that doesn't create a premium experience for anyone
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  it creates creates consumer exhaustion
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  if we fragment inventory we do not create choice
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  we create confusion beyond the frustration
• 4:54
  there's a massive issue of fair access
• 4:56
  the open MLS was designed to level the playing field so that everyone
• 5:01
  regardless of who they know or what brokerage they hired
• 5:04
  had an equal opportunity to purchase a home
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  when inventory becomes gated behind private networks
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  it quietly restricts who gets to live in certain neighborhoods
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  it means buyers are forced to align with specific corporate brands
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  just to get access to the inventory
• 5:22
  this seems like we're going back to the old MLS books
• 5:25
  where real estate agents controlled all of the inventory
• 5:28
  this is not brokerage drama
• 5:29
  this is a fight for the consumer's access
• 5:32
  the industry loves to make these databases about internal issues
• 5:36
  lead flow commission splits and market share
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  but the consumer does not care who wins the lawsuit
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  they care who protects their equity
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  proponents of phased marketing claims
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  their private strategy can result in a 2.9% higher closing price
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  but when you look at independent empirical data
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  the story changes drastically
• 5:55
  Bright MLS analyzed over 1 million transactions
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  they controlled for the size of the home
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  the neighborhood the condition
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  the results were brutal homes exposed to the open market
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  sold for an average of 18.3% more than off market sales
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  in actual dollars
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  sellers who bypass the open market lost an average of $53,890
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  according to that study we're not talking about a rounding error
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  that is equivalent of a year of college tuition
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  that is a down payment on a new home
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  that is family's retirement equity wiped out
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  because their home wasn't fully exposed to the market
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  to make matters worse
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  the research showed off market sales were double ended
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  72% more frequently this brings us to a massive fiduciary gut check
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  Article 3 of the code of ethics
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  dictate that cooperation is the standard
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  unless it explicitly harms the client
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  so we have to ask
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  are these private strategies being used to benefit the seller
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  or they being used to increase the odds that a brokerage captures
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  both sides of the commission
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  private marketing should be a surgical tool for unique situations
• 7:03
  like severe safety concerns or high profile public figures
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  it should never be an entire business model
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  and the majority of the homes that sell in most markets
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  are not at that level
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  where we can just forego exposure because they're that good
• 7:20
  look at the legal fallout of this inventory hoarding
• 7:22
  Zillow implemented listing access standards to force inventory open
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  and it sparked a massive legal battle
• 7:28
  Zillow literally sued compass in the Chicago area
• 7:31
  MLS
• 7:32
  over a threat to cut off a listing feed representing 43,000 agents
• 7:36
  if major under enterprise brokerages ultimately win this war
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  we could be heading toward a world
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  where they effectively create their own private MLS ecosystems
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  think about what happens to the indie and boutique brokerages
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  if inventory becomes gated
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  think about the strong independent agents
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  who built their business on relationships and local expertise
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  not corporate inventory control
• 8:01
  if the playing field changes
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  the consumer gets squeezed
• 8:04
  the danger is not just private listing
• 8:07
  the danger is private markets
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  so how do smart
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  independent agents and boutique brokerages survive this
• 8:13
  you stop being passive
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  if you wait until the listing agreement is signed to start marketing
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  you have already lost a good bit of time
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  you are too late
• 8:24
  while massive companies fight over listings that already exist
• 8:28
  the sharpest agents are using predictive analytics
• 8:31
  to identify the listings of tomorrow
• 8:34
  platforms like House Canary are using propensity to list algorithms
• 8:38
  and 36 month value forecasting
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  to find out who is likely to sell before they even raise their hand
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  instead of fighting 10 other agents over an active listing
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  you build a relationship before the property is ever discussed
• 8:51
  you understand the hyper local market better than anyone else
• 8:54
  just remember AI can point at the door
• 8:57
  you still have to know how to knock
• 8:59
  it doesn't replace trust timing
• 9:01
  or your ability to sit at a kitchen table and offer real
• 9:04
  fiduciary guidance
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  the agent who can explain these massive industry shifts
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  calmly and clearly will win the client's trust
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  the agent who just repeats corporate talking
• 9:14
  points is going to get exposed
• 9:16
  the seller deserves maximum clarity
• 9:19
  the buyer deserves fair access
• 9:21
  and you deserve to build a business on skill
• 9:24
  rather than relying on whichever company controls the most inventory
• 9:28
  if you are trying to build a resilient real estate business
• 9:31
  that thrives no matter what happens with these lawsuits
• 9:35
  this is exactly what we break down
• 9:37
  inside the real estate agent playbook
• 9:40
  no hype just actual strategy
• 9:42
  book a game plan called the link below
• 9:44
  and let's talk through where your business needs to go next
• 9:48
  because ultimately transparency is going to win this game
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  no matter if we do have the big box brokerages
• 9:54
  partnering with all these subsidiary brokerages
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  and going to a private MLS system
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  there is a path forward however
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  it doesn't make the most sense for the consumer
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  in my opinion to hoard these listings
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  even at one of the largest real estate companies in the world
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  which I am at it doesn't make sense because it's not transparent
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  it's not positive for the consumer
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  the MLS was built the internet came
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  we have social media then we have the portal sites that came along
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  and ultimately we're this far into this tech
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  and we have to understand that
• 10:29
  our jobs as real estate agents are ever evolving
• 10:31
  and if you have any questions about that or you want to chat
• 10:34
  please comment below let me know where you think this is going
• 10:37
  but always stay transparent to your clients
• 10:40
  and go get them and yourself
• 10:42
  another win today in the game of real estate