Every day, every single day, we get calls that go like this:
Hi, I’m calling about your listing at 123 Main Street”
OK, that’s not our listing, but I’d be happy to give you some info on it”
It’s your listing, it’s on your web site. I’m looking at it right now.
Our site shows EVERY home listed for sale in the Phoenix area. Let me look it up for your real quick.
From here, the conversation can take several different directions.
The Disbelievers
Sometimes the caller argues with me, insisting that I am wrong, that we are the listing agents because they are looking at our site.
Trust me, I know what homes our brokerage has listed. There is a boatload of paperwork tied to each and every one of them that the State Department of Real Estate requires me to review and sign. Yet some callers will still all but call me clueless.
Here’s the first hint not every home shown for sale on our site is listed by our brokerage. Below is a screen shot of our Phoenix home search. See the “39,743 properties found” note? I can assure you that Thompson’s Realty does not have almost 40,000 homes listed for sale.
Here’s the deal:
Our site, like many other real estate agent / brokerage sites has what is called an IDX feed. IDX = Internet Data eXchange (why they didn’t call it IDE is beyond me. Trying too hard to be cool I guess). IDX pulls home listings from the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) and displays it on agent sites. Virtually every real estate brokerage sends and allows their listing data to be shared via IDX. Those that do not are, to be blunt, not very bright. You WANT your listings to be seen on web sites. As many web sites as possible. After all, the point in taking a listing is to sell it. Don’t believe me? Just ask your clients. I’ll bet you a ridiculous amount of money that any home seller asked will tell you that yes, they listed their home with you in the hopes of getting it sold, and they want the maximum exposure possible for said home. The internet is really good at getting exposure for your home.
The Angry Brokers
Calls I find the most interesting: Interesting in a “you’ve got to be freaking kidding me” kind of way, are the ones from angry real estate brokers:
Why is my listing showing up on your site!?!
Because you checked the box in the MLS to send it to the Internet.
I get that, but when I Google the address, your site comes up first. And I can’t even find my site at all!
Well, that’s your problem, not mine. It’s called Search Engine Optimization. Check it out some time.
This isn’t fair. My site should be number one for my listing. You must be cheating. I may file a complaint if you don’t take it down.
Knock yourself out.
Or even worse:
Why is my listing showing up on your site!?!
Because you checked the box in the MLS to send it to the internet.
What box?
The box where YOU authorize the listing to go out on IDX.
ID what?
Seriously. If you’re a broker and you don’t understand what IDX is and does, well, you may want to revisit your choice of careers.
The Misguided
These are the calls that can be very frustrating, or very rewarding – personally and professionally. The “misguided” are those that insist that “as buyers” they will only work with the listing agent. Their general thinking is they can “get a better deal” working directly with the listing agent.
Not. So. Much.
Trying to convince people that they need their own representation is most often an exercise in futility. While it seems stunningly obvious that the last person you want to work with as a home buyer is the agent that represents the home seller, making this point to most callers usually leaves me banging my head against the desk in frustration. Listing agents represent the seller, and the seller’s interests – not you the buyers interest. The listing agents job is to get the seller the most money they can. A buyer’s agent is supposed to get you the buyer the home for as little as possible. Why oh why a buyer insists on working with the seller’s agent is beyond me, but insist they do. I could ramble on for 10,000 words about why using the seller’s agent is a bad idea. Yes, it’s true that SOME (but certainly not all) listing agents will cut their commission if they “represent” the buyer. But that’s going to be maybe 1%, (2% if you are exceedingly lucky) of the sales price. A good buyer’s agent can easily save you that much, and quite possibly significantly more.
I’ll spare you the 10,000 additional words on using the seller’s agent. If you’re interested, here are two previous articles I wrote on representation / dual agency. I just re-read them, and if I may be so self-serving and biased, they are pretty good (with great insight in the comments as well):
Real Estate 101: Representation
In Summary
We show every (well almost every) home listed for sale in Phoenix on this web site. The only homes that aren’t shown are those where the broker, for whatever inexplicable reason, elects not to distribute their listings via IDX.
Our brokerage is not the listing broker for every home for sale in Phoenix. We’re planning Phoenix market domination, but we’re not quite there yet.
If you are a broker, learn what IDX is and does. (There’s a LOT of information available from the Arizona Regional Multiple Listing Service. Their site has good information about IDX in general.)
Any agent can show you any home, and represent YOUR interests and needs as a buyer. Choose your agent carefully, but chose YOUR agent, not the seller’s agent.
I added this last sentence because it gets this article to 1,000 words, exactly.
The Phoenix Real Estate Guy was started by Jay Thompson, and I have a little blogging problem... he liked to say...
What we have here is a failure to communicate.
I wish the IDX websites would have an option where I can add a discrete, "Brought to you by" at the top of the header above my name and photo. That would improve clarity a bit.
In addition, instead of "Contact an Agent," I wish the IDX said, "Contact a Buyer's Agent." That would definitely improve clarity a lot. Of course, that would have to be a dynamic field that changes to "Contact the Seller's Agent" when I am indeed the listing agent.
Here's one typical exchange. "I'm not the seller's agent. My name and photo are on top of all 39,000 plus homes on my website. Are you already working with a Realtor? [If, "Yes"] I'm sure your Realtor would be very happy to help you with that."
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Jay,
This is great. Like the piece.
Almost EVERY call in I get starts with that line: "I'm looking at one of your listings…"
Today's came at about noon and the guy opened up with that line, and the address of the property. I informed him that I show ALL the listings on my site and that one is not "mine."
He says, "so you set yourself up to somehow intercept on other people's listings.."
That was actually a first and pretty funny (to me). I then I had to go into the ramble about being a buyer's agent, bla bla, etc.
After all that verbiage, he was trying to rent something that was for SALE and so all this just went into the "I'll never get this time back, ever" category.
🙂
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I like when an agent calls on 'your listing' THAT THEIR CLIENT FOUND ON YOUR WEBSITE and insist it's your listing.
I've even had agents sign up for listings. That are in our MLS.
People are funny, and I like to laugh!
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Candice – I got a call from an agent once who was *sitting in front of the house* in her car with her client. She was calling from the listing printout her client made from our site…
"Yes, it is your listing, I have the printout in my hand."
"You're in front of the house right now?"
"Yes"
"Is there a for sale sign?"
"Yes"
"Is my name on it?"
"Oh. Uhm. Well, no."
One has to wonder what her client thought of that exchange….
Jay – we've been dealing with these calls for years. I enjoyed your dialog, which honet to gawd is as close to reality as it gets. The only situation you didn't mention is the one from the SELLER who finds their listing on our site and wan't to know a) why the list price isn't what they thought it should be, or b) why there are "no photos". Typically these individuals aren't easy to convince that the listing agent they hired actually listed the property without photos or at a different price than that on the listing contract.
Jay,
Oh man this was a trip down memory lane for me! It's been a year or two since I answered the phone for those calls, but I remember these well. I stopped trying to explain to buyers that they weren't our listings. It was rare they would understand, and you know what it's my opinion it's not their job to understand. Consumers don't care if it's yours or Joe Blow's they want the info. So it's not worth the argument, you're only going to irritate people in the explanation process IMHO.
As far as the brokers go, those were the best calls ever! I can't tell you how many agents called me just like you mention! Take down our listing. Uh no thanks. Even better were the Seller's that called and wanted us to list their property after we explained how listings spread throughout the Internet and how multiple agents can get them indexed.
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Any broker or agent who doesn't understand how or why their listings are showing up on your site should get out of the business.
Timely post with this exact situation happening to me today with a potential buyer. I wrote a similar post a while back but as you say, it's a lesson in futility explaining agency some days (or to agents how their listing got on our site). Though, today's buyer (from England) did seem to grasp it and we politely realized she should work with her agent she had already been in touch. I've even had home sellers ask me to fix listings, where I forwarded the incorrect info to listing agents.
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Thanks for posting! I needed a good laugh today. What are people thinking?
Great post, Jay. Truly insightful.
Well done, Jay.
Great post Jay – thank you!
To funny and so true, I just had my own uncle pull that on me he wants to work directly with the list agent to buy the house and use the list agent to list his current house because he thinks he will get a better deal. He called me to make sure my feelings wouldn’t be hurt. I told him good luck! There is no explaining to these people that they need their own representation!
Right, right and right!
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Sad that many agents still don’t even understand IDX. It’s only been around 4 years or more, ID what? 🙂
Lisa…that is just sad! You couldn’t give your Uncle a better deal than a stranger? OMG!
Haahahha..LOL…
i'm sorry, but it kinda ridiculous..
🙂
Well, you should all try working in New Orleans where we do not have agent level IDX. We are allowed a "link" to brokerage IDX site and consumers are redirected. We have a bunch of morons running our MLS, absolute buffoons, idiots. They are protecting our data! They don't release sold data either………..(if you need me to take this down I will)
Jay, more gold from the phxreguy. I'm not an agent, but I can clearly envision that exchange. If it wasn't so funny, it would be so frustrating.
Believe me Shane, the amusement wears thin fairly quickly. This type of thing happens at least a couple of times every week
Jay, I forwarded this to a couple of our agents. For some reason, my agents seem to feel a little uncomfortable when some other agent starts blustering and shrieking at them about listings showing on our websites. 🙂 This might help them feel better.
Just had this EXACT conversation with an agent today!!! Great post Jay!
Ardell, isn’t that sad as he would have totally gotten the family discount but he things he can do better on his own oh well his loss =]
Oh I love this post! I explain IDX on a daily / weekly basis and can't believe how many agents / brokers have no idea what this is or what it can do for them.
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[youtube zh6dmtKR6w0 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zh6dmtKR6w0 youtube]
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And an interesting thought it is John! Very interesting…
hmmm, here i can't use this methods because the area is too big…
maybe i'm going to use other methods..
A colleague of mine recently had an action brought against her at the board in regards to indexable IDX. It's funny when stuff like that happens because the board has to sign off on it when we get the IDX. Some people need to get into the century.
I do have strange calls but several months ago I had one where the caller said they wanted to see my listing "with the pictures". I kept trying to get an address or ML # but they didn't "get it". All they wanted was the "house with the pictures." Seriously I couldn't work with someone like that during an entire transaction.
This is a post I can relate to we get the same stuff you mention here. What is worse is when an agent calls wanting to show "our listing" then we have to explain what IDX is and they have no clue, dude don't you have mls? it boggles my mind.
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This is a post I can relate to we get the same stuff you mention here. What is worse is when an agent calls wanting to show "our listing" then we have to explain what IDX is and they have no clue, dude don't you have mls? it boggles my mind.
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Some people just don't "get it". Ok, maybe more than some. Before entering into the real estate world, i was under the impression that all real estate professionals were intelligent professionals… boy was i wrong. Common sense goes a long way.
LOL, another timeless Jay post. I can't say that I get that many calls, instead the emails about wanting to see 'the listing'. Seriously? Even if they've been in a cave for the past 5 centuries, surely they SHOULD recognize that there's more than one listing.
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LOL, another timeless Jay post. I can't say that I get that many calls, instead the emails about wanting to see 'the listing'. Seriously? Even if they've been in a cave for the past 5 centuries, surely they SHOULD recognize that there's more than one listing.
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Jay, my face hurts from laughing after reading this post. So true! It's amazing how similar home buyers are even a half country away here in Minneapolis. It is also amazing how many "real estate professionals" aren't yet aware of what IDX or SEO are….all in due time…
It is understandable for the general public to assume that a listing on your website is yours, but it is pathetic when other agents do the same. We get calls from agents off of our websites all the time.
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Real Estate business always been dealing with people and competitors, I guess some of them really don't have any idea that when they share there website to Internet google will index it and make it available to IDX. hopefully somebody could have an in deep explanation how this works.
John
1000 words on a subject, (okay a couple of subjects) that never go away. Doesn't it just drive you nuts? Of course buyer agency is the ONLY way to go for a buyer. Nobody would even dream of hiring the same Attorney to represent them as the other guy in court. How come it's not a no-brainer when it comes to real estate too?
I think the saddest thing about your commentary on IDX is the fact that so many agents and brokers don't "get it." The consumer is only around for a finite amount of time. (As long as it takes to buy or sell a house). They don't spend 365 days a year 24/7 breathing this stuff. What does that say about our "professionals" if they don't understand the basics of Internet marketing?
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1000 words on a subject, (okay a couple of subjects) that never go away. Doesn't it just drive you nuts? Of course buyer agency is the ONLY way to go for a buyer. Nobody would even dream of hiring the same Attorney to represent them as the other guy in court. How come it's not a no-brainer when it comes to real estate too?
I think the saddest thing about your commentary on IDX is the fact that so many agents and brokers don't "get it." The consumer is only around for a finite amount of time. (As long as it takes to buy or sell a house). They don't spend 365 days a year 24/7 breathing this stuff. What does that say about our "professionals" if they don't understand the basics of Internet marketing?
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I really like this post, it is so true. Very pathetic when agents don't understand what boxes they are checking off. IDX and SEO are so very important for any agent.
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I really like this post, it is so true. Very pathetic when agents don't understand what boxes they are checking off. IDX and SEO are so very important for any agent.
My recent post Troon Homes are 50 Off
While reading this post I was wishing I had never met you – only because I could just picture you and your facial expressions saying this – and with that being said – I laughed through the entire thing – and had to go back and read it again…. YOU hit so many nails on the head for me – I have been preaching this for years – just like you – but have never found the words to do it as humorous as you…. Buyers you really need to read this, listen to it and adhere to it.
Just had one of these yesterday, the agent called and wanted to set an appointment to show the home. She admitted she hadn’t checked the MLS yet, she just called me first, because her client told her I was the contact. Maybe, she should have been working for her client, not the other way around.
What about the agents that call up and say… your site has my listing wrong on it… you need to change it. They simply will not accept the answer that the IDX is pulled directly from the MLS–and that THEY are the ones that have the control over how it shows up?
Usually they insist that their listing is correct and are unsatisfied with the response that IDX is not as “real time” as MLS is so there needs to be time to let the changes propagate across the net…and maybe they need to clear their cache too…