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Perennial portal warrior Andy Florance, who leads Homes.com parent CoStar, said Tuesday that his company’s differentiator is an interest in getting homes sold — and added later that a high-profile lawsuit against his firm is a “PR stunt.”
The comments came during Florance’s appearance on the main stage of Inman Connect Las Vegas — a platform that Florance has used multiple times in the past to call out rival portals such as Zillow and Realtor.com. Florance’s comments this time were less explicitly pugnacious, but in response to questioning from moderator Brad Inman, he did say that “what we’re focused on is selling the house.”
Florance drew a contrast between that approach and other portals, which he said are focused on selling leads, not homes. He compared the situation to old classified ads in newspapers, arguing that companies such as Zillow made every “ad” — in this case, a home listing — the same size, and then included a phone number for an agent who doesn’t hold the listing itself.
Homes.com, on the other hand, can put agents’ listings “front and center” and give agents tools “so they could demonstrate to the seller that they’re adding more value,” Florance said. He added that agents who use Homes.com “are getting 50 percent more listings,” which translates to “about $100,000 a year.”
The comments were a reference to CoStar’s “your listing, your lead” strategy, which aims to funnel consumers to the agents who hold listings, rather than agents who pay a portal for lead generation.
Brad Inman, left, and Andy Florance at Inman Connect Las Vegas on Tuesday. Credit: AJ Canaria Creative Services
Florance also weighed in during the session on a legal battle between his company and Realtor.com parent Move, Inc. The battle began earlier this month when Move sued CoStar for theft of trade secrets. At issue is an editor who previously worked for Realtor.com but later took a job at CoStar. That editor, James Kaminsky, spoke out just days ago to say he is innocent.
While on stage, Florance described Kaminsky as a “poor guy” with two special needs kids, who didn’t have a non-compete and is not running Homes.com.
“I frankly think it’s just a PR stunt,” Florance said of the lawsuit. “We have paid for his counsel, and we have put him on leave indefinitely. We’re not going to let him be the fall guy for this.”
At another point in the session, Florance also discussed CoStar’s recent marketing campaign, which has involved paying for ads during high-profile events such as the Super Bowl and the Olympics. The ads are designed to raise the profile of Homes.com, though Florance’s rivals have expressed skepticism of the campaign’s efficacy. Florance, however, pushed back Tuesday, saying that the ads have increased consumers’ unaided awareness of the brand and that they have resulted in billions of impressions.
Florance ultimately concluded his remarks by offering advice to entrepreneurs in the audience, suggesting that the key to success is perseverance.
“The folks who stick with it beyond a certain point,” he said, “just begin to learn how to surf.”
