The last year has been absolutely transformational for real estate.
We entered 2014 hoping and praying for a continued recovery and ended up getting a lot more than that. I’m talking about the proposed combination of Zillow and Trulia and the Move.com acquisition, which took us all by surprise.
Back in 2013, my wife and partner, Julie, and I saw the beginning of a true recovery in real estate. In 2014, we saw that recovery build steam and the majority of our coaching students transition from short sales and distressed properties to traditional upmarket sales. While the market uptick wasn’t a surprise, it was a shock when years of pressure building up inside the industry led to this explosion of competition and rapid consolidation at the very top levels of the industry.
Nobody saw the Zillow/Trulia merger coming. Both companies entered the summer months competing to be No. 1 among the real estate listing portals by vowing to outspend the other. We thought we’d see this saber-rattling turn into a “clash of the titans” for industry dominance, but almost as quickly as it happened, it was over: In July, Zillow announced it would acquire Trulia.
Then, out of nowhere, Move Inc. announced it was being acquired by Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp., with the blessing of the National Association of Realtors and its stake in realtor.com. What started as a battle royale between the industry’s two largest listing portals transformed into an even larger competition between those two portals and a world-class media organization — a story that continues to unfold.
Recently, Julie and I had the opportunity to speak with NAR Chief Executive Officer Dale Stinton on our daily radio broadcast, “Real Estate Coaching Radio.” We asked Dale about his long and distinguished career in real estate and for his insights into the News Corp. acquisition of Move, how it affects NAR’s interest in realtor.com, and other issues we can expect to hear more about in 2015:
Listen to the complete interview with Dale Stinton here:
This discussion answered many of our questions about NAR’s goals, vision and priorities for the upcoming year. We hope to share more about major trends on the horizon during a second interview with Dale sometime in early 2015.
Tim and Julie Harris have over 20 years’ experience in real estate. Learn more about their real estate coaching and training programs at timandjulieharris.com, or tune in to Real Estate Coaching Radio every weekday at realestatecoachingradio.com.