If Move.com Were To Murder HouseValues.com

Today we feature a very special guest: Roberta Murphy.  Her distinction is that she is the first Real Estate Tomato client to make the Vine.  In a conversation yesterday, Roberta revealed to me that she was spitting mad at a certain weak point in Top Producer’s recently upgraded product.  Her observation seemed that it would be of great interest to our audience here, so I sent over our soapbox to her immediately.  Below is what she hit us with.

If Move.com Were To Murder HouseValues.com
Here's How I Think It Should Happen:

I don't think Move.com has a murderous eye on HouseValues, but perhaps it should. If Move.com wants to meet its ambitious goals, it must.

HouseValues with its drip system is/was one of the dominant players in the home valuation field and is one of the more aggressive players in the listing alert market. With their software program (acquired from SOAR Solutions in 2003), potential home buyers receive daily emails listing all new properties meeting their search criteria that have hit the market in the last 24 hours.

I was an early subscriber to SOAR Solutions and still use the product, because of the excellent results given to our subscribers. It is also a program that runs over $1000 per year, now that HouseValues owns it.  What I do not pay for are HV's JustListed leads, that come from their property search features. We are capable of gather those on our own.

One of the best weapons in MOVE's war chest just might be Top Producer, the online sales, marketing and database management system for real estate agents. In earlier days, TP was a real estate database workhorse that managed client information, correspondence, notes and follow up for the busy real estate professional. Responsive to the internet revolution, they took their product online in 2003 with Version 7i which immediately attracted subscribers such as myself who don't back up data nearly often enough. Online, for our purposes, is better. And TP has aggressively added features in the past three years.

Their Market Snapshot provides a classy report for people wondering about the status of their property valuations. Top Producer's new websites promise to have a blogging platform and other cool features, all of which can further enhance the real estate professional's database potential. They also offer an IDX property alert system that could be a threat to HouseValues, but isn't. Why? The search parameters are far too thin (city, price, bedrooms, bathrooms) and don't allow for searcher specificity. Our San Diego property searchers are specific about the age of the home, its view, whether it has a pool or not, whether it is in a 55+ community, as well as square footage and lot size.  To be fair to our clients, we could never "downsize" their search experience to a lesser one.

So how could MOVE.com and Top Producer really murder HouseValues?

Very simply, create an awesome, intuitive and specific IDX property search program that would automatically send out not only new properties meeting clients' search criteria, but would also send out monthly market reports under the agent's name and contact information. Then, all this information would be stored in the elegant database program for which Top Producer is already known.

And why would this murder HouseValues?

The answer is quite simple: Most agents would no longer need them.  Subscribers such as myself (and there are thousands), would move everything to one site, with one database, and with the ability to send information, newsletters and reports out to our clients and subscribers from that same database. And those interested in just getting a home valuation would have lots of choices—as they already do with the likes of Zillow and others, but could also receive emailed and detailed monthly market reports about their neighborhood without an agent knocking on their door with a CMA (Comparative Market Analysis) in hand.

Finally and for what it's worth, I confess to being a subscriber to elements of both Top Producer and HouseValues. But information is about all about databases, and I want a centralized, comprehensive and online database that I control and protect. I would never sell or share a client's personal information to another, either. You see, I have a real problem with information harvesters who then sell that personal data to hungry agents. That is why I would vote to see Top Producer as the survivor.

I prefer to "dine €”and work" €”in peace.

Roberta Murphy GRI, ABR, e-PRO
The Murphy Group
Windermere Exclusive Properties
Carlsbad, CA 92009
877-818-8197   760-402-9101
Her luxury real estate blog can be seen at www.LuxuryHomeDigest.com

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Comments

[Dustin]

You raise some interesting ideas that I have titillated some of us at Move and Top Producer! :)

[Roberta Murphy]

Thanks, Dustin! I would put my chips with Move and TP--and ANTs Software for database issues. I am so glad you are aboard with them--and it appears you move as fast as you speak:-)

[Jim Duncan]

But what if I don't want other agents profiting from my listings? When I send my properties to move.com, I would rather that the leads come to me, rather then to the agent who buys the more expensive package.

[Roberta Murphy]

Jim: This isn't about the selling of leads (which HouseValues does); rather, about the quality of listing information that is sent to our own clients. It is about property search specificity.

I just want a single, online real estate database that can effectively manage all my real estate information and communications, provide an IDX interface and not try to sell leads back to me.