Real estate information portal Zillow will help real estate agents build their own WordPress-powered websites with optional integration of Internet Data Exchange (IDX) listing feeds from agents’ multiple listing services in available markets.
Zillow is offering customized agent websites to subscribers to its "Premier Agent" advertising program at no charge. According to its most recent quarterly report to investors, Zillow had 18,616 Premier Agent subscribers at the end up March, up 74 percent from a year ago.
Zillow will also offer Premier Agent Websites to non-subscribers for $10 a month. In both cases, multiple listing services may charge additional fees for providing IDX listing feeds.
Zillow said its recent acquisition of Diverse Solutions — an Irvine, Calif.-based company that powers IDX searches for real estate agents’ websites and mobile platforms — allowed it "to accelerate this important initiative to help real estate agents better market their business online."
Diverse Solutions charges $29.95 a month for its WordPress IDX search plug-in for real estate websites. The company, acquired by Zillow in November for $7.8 million, charges $99.95 a month for map-based IDX property search sites.
In February, two MLSs dropped Diverse Solutions as an approved provider of IDX services for members, citing the company’s acquisition by Zillow.
Diverse Solution’s IDX coverage area includes 200 MLSs in 49 states and the District of Columbia. Alaska is the only state where it has no coverage.
Premier Agent Websites will include:
- Local, map-based IDX property search (additional MLS fee may apply).
- A personalized domain name.
- Integration with Zillow’s free customer relationship management (CRM) platform to manage leads and customer contacts coming from the website.
- Search engine optimization.
Screenshot of Zillow Premier Agent Website.
"It’s incredibly important for real estate agents to have a Web presence, but building and maintaining a custom website with local IDX feeds is often time consuming and complex," said Jay Thompson, Zillow’s director of industry outreach and social media, in a statement.
A number of companies that operate listing portals that generate leads for real estate brokers and agents, including Realtor.com and Homes.com, offer CRM tools to help agents manage leads.