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Letters To NYC Real Estate Agents

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Dear Fellow Real Estate Agents,

As you know I have written about StreetEasy many times before.  But this time is different. A legal line may have been crossed.

Imagine if Amazon punished you for listing your product on Ebay FIRST…

Imagine if StubHub punished you for listing your tickets on Craigslist FIRST…

Imagine if StreetEasy punished you for listing your apartment on your brokerage website or the RLS FIRST…

Oh wait, you don’t have to imagine. That is exactly what StreetEasy is doing.  If an agent posts their listing on another website FIRST, StreetEasy will punish the agent by not accepting that listing.

Obviously, StreetEasy recognizes the single biggest threat to their business would be if buyers started their searches on competitive websites (i.e. brokerage websites, other listing platforms, the RLS)

So StreetEasy is looking to control this, by strong-arming agents to ensure listings are not posted on competitive websites first.

Let’s call this what it is: RESTRAINT OF TRADE.

Does anyone actually think this is acceptable? Isn’t StreetEasy flexing its “monopolistic” muscles to restrain competition? Is this even legal?

Agents should be able to advertise where they and their clients see fit without fear of retribution from a powerful bully seeking to secure its dominance in the NYC listings marketplace.  

StreetEasy gives a very disingenuous justification for this policy stating that New Yorkers “deserve access to the most accurate and up-to-date listings”

But by punishing agents and blacklisting their postings, isn’t StreetEasy denying New Yorkers “access”?

I believe this is mostly a threat and a bluff.  Yes, StreetEasy will likely “punish” a few agents, hoping the scare tactics frighten others.

But they can’t punish every agent.  Because it would mean StreetEasy would have LESS listings, the very problem they are trying to avoid.

I hope agents and REBNY can take advantage of this critical moment and push back on StreetEasy’s obvious attempt to restrain competition.

Where and when an agent posts a listing should be based on what is in the best interest of the client, not what is in the best interest of StreetEasy. 

This time, I think StreetEasy has gone way too far.

Best,
Phil Horigan: Founder, Podcast HostFounder, Leasebreak.com#1 in shorter leases and pioneered the Special Lead Program: a great way for agents to get rental exclusives and work with renters

Top Agent Podcast: I host a podcast (on Clubhouse) with a panel of top real estate agents.  Click here to get the recordings and notifications.

Also you can follow me on Instagram by clicking below:

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Dear Fellow Real Estate Agents,

There is now a really cool way to help agents gather intel about the market, learn from each other, and connect in new ways.  Here’s how:

Twelve of the top real estate agents and experts in NYC (list below) regularly get together to discuss the real estate market and offer tips and tools for agents. I host these events on Clubhouse and they are now being recorded. To get an email with a link to the Podcast each time we do it, just click here or shoot me your email address.

Here is the one we did last Thursday (fast forward to about the 6 minute mark when the discussion gets started).

What is pretty neat is that we leave time at the end for anyone to come up on stage and make a comment or ask a question.  Sometimes these agents turn into panelists. Cool stuff!

You probably recognize the agents and experts on the panel (see list below) as they are some of the best known and widely respected real estate agents and experts in the city.

Here is our Regular Panel of Real Estate Experts:

  • Antonio del Rosario (Agent – Brown Harris Stevens)
  • Brian Lewis (Agent – Compass)
  • Caroline Bass (Agent – Corcoran)
  • Christine Toes (Agent – Compass)
  • Mark D. Friedman (Agent – Brown Harris Stevens)
  • Nikki Beauchamp (Agent – Engel & Volkers)
  • Noah Rosenblatt (Founder – UrbanDigs)
  • Noemi Bitterman (Agent – Compass)
  • Scott Harris (Agent – Brown Harris Stevens)
  • Scotty Elyanow (Agent – Compass)
  • Tracie Hamersley (Agent – Douglas Elliman)
  • William Bolls (Agent – Compass)

Just shoot me your email address if you want to get the link every time we do a recording. Happy to do so.  So much fun when we can all learn from each other! 🙂

Phil Horigan, Founder:
Founder, Leasebreak: “Shorter Leases, More Flexibility”.  Also pioneered the Special Lead Program: a great way for agents to get rental exclusives and work with rentersAlso you can follow me on Instagram and Tiktok by clicking below:
Follow Me On Instagram
Follow Me On Tiktok

Dear Fellow Real Estate Agents,

After careful consideration, as of today we are no longer taking the REBNY RLS feed.

This means that most of your listings will be removed from Leasebreak today.

But here’s the good news for agents:  We send 50,000 free leads to agents annually. Most of those leads are now up for grabs! Yes, you can still get free leads! More on that below.  

Leasebreak was one of the first 3 websites to start taking the RLS feed in 2017. We enthusiastically embraced the concept of doing our part to help agents find alternatives to StreetEasy by offering free postings and free leads to agents.

Unfortunately, as I hinted at in my last email here, we felt we could no longer take the RLS feed once REBNY made the surprising decision to start charging websites to show your listings.

For those who have been following me for the last few years you know my goal was simple:

Help agents get as many free leads as possible from alternative sources (like Leasebreak) to help level the playing field against StreetEasy.

And I still want that to happen.

Do you? If so, here’s what you can do:

Any agent can manually post their exclusive listings on our website by clicking here.  Posting will of course be FREE and all leads will go to agents for FREE  

For those who still want their listings to be posted automatically on our website, have your manager get in touch with me.  There are many other feed options we can offer.

While REBNY and Leasebreak are parting ways for now, perhaps we can work together again in the future. We may have our differences on the correct path to follow, but ultimately I believe we both want agents to succeed.

Please feel free to reach out directly to me with any additional thoughts.  Look forward to hearing from you!

And remember, you can start immediately posting your exclusive listings for free on Leasebreak by clicking here.  Many of you already post this way.

For those that want to get more exclusives, don’t forget Leasebreak also offers agents the opportunity to obtain rental listing exclusives by working with tenants and individual owners.  You can sign up and try this out for free by clicking here.

As always, Leasebreak will be here for you and support you in any way we can 🙂

Phil Horigan, Founder:
Founder, Leasebreak#1 in shorter term rentals and pioneered the Special Lead Program: a great way for agents to get rental exclusives and work with rentersHost, Weekly Chat with a Top Expert Agent Panel: I host a weekly show on Clubhouse with a panel of top real estate agents and experts.  Let me know if you want to participate or want the weekly link and weekly “notes” from the show.

Dear Fellow Real Estate Agents,

REBNY has made a shocking decision.  I am not sure I can support it. It is quite discouraging and very disappointing.

Worst of all, consumer facing websites that you rely on for alternative lead sources may decide to no longer take the REBNY RLS feed which means less exposure for your listings.

What was REBNY’s Decision?
Since 2017 REBNY tried to make sure your listings were on as many quality consumer websites as possible. They did this by making it FREE for consumer websites to show your listings (via the RLS feed).

I fully supported this and sent many emails and blogs about it, like this one.

But then they recently reversed course.

For reasons that are still not clear to me, we were just informed by REBNY that they will start charging all consumer websites SIGNIFICANT FEES to take the RLS feed.

Honestly, I was stunned by this announcement. And I told them so.

The RLS feed is how your listings get on other websites, like Leasebreak, Apartments.com, Realtor.com, Renthop, Frele, etc.

I can’t speak for other consumer websites, but I know Leasebreak and Frele send the brokerage community literally tens of thousands of FREE leads every year from the RLS Listings.  I know you know this because many of you receive these leads!

What are the Consequences of REBNY’s Decision? 
I believe REBNY needs to do everything in its power to incentivize – not dissuade – quality consumer facing websites to continue displaying REBNY RLS listings.  Not only is this a huge benefit to agents, it is also one of the key ways to help mitigate the stranglehold StreetEasy has over the industry.  Aren’t we all on the same page here?

Charging fees to consumer websites for the privilege of sending free leads to agents is destructive to the cause. Isn’t it?

We are moving in the opposite direction!

The consequences of this decision to charge fees to show the RLS listings could be far reaching:

Smaller websites that spend hundreds of hours on developing and maintaining the RLS integration may now think twice about it.  

This decision could stifle innovation and lessen the competition to reach more consumers.  This plays right into StreetEasy’s hands.

REBNY is creating a “pay to play” environment that may force some quality consumer websites to consider opting out from taking the RLS feed.  This could mean a loss of thousands of free leads to agents at a crucial time in our industry.

Under these circumstances I don’t yet know if Leasebreak and Frele will still be able to take the RLS feed.  I am concerned that our principles may not be aligned.

If any of you have thoughts on this, I would love to hear them.

No matter which way this goes, I am committed to working with those that still want to post on our websites for free.  Ultimately, I want to help agents as best I can but this latest REBNY decision is making things more difficult.

Phil Horigan, Founder:
Leasebreak#1 in shorter term rentals and pioneered the Special Lead Program: a great way for agents to get rental exclusives and work with rentersFrēlēA new free and transparent real estate marketplace.  Text “Frele” to 917-540-8825 and be part of the journey!

Host, Clubhouse room for Top Agents: I host a weekly show on Clubhouse with top real estate agents and experts.  Ask me if you want the weekly link and weekly “notes” from the show

Dear Fellow Real Estate Agents,

Over the last 3 months a special collaboration among New York City real estate agents has grown out of our weekly real estate chats with top agents and experts.  Many of you are part of it, but for those who are not, here’s how to get involved:

Weekly Panel of Top Real Estate Agents and Experts!  Who’s in? 
I have been hosting an audio panel chat on Clubhouse every Thursday at 11am for the last 15 weeks with some of the top real estate agents and experts in NYC.(See their names below. You will probably recognize many of them!) 

We have many lively discussions on the topics pertinent to our industry such as how to win bidding wars, top marketing tactics when selling a home, and the current state of the sale and rental market.   It is “audio” only, no video, and it is NOT recorded like a podcast. I see that many of you have been in the audience listening! Some even participating! To get involved, just reply to this email and I will make sure you have access and get a weekly email with a summary of the chat.

Topic this Thursday: “The Ways Covid Has Changed Real Estate Forever”
This Thursday at 11am we will discuss the ways in which Covid has changed real estate forever.  We will be hearing from our top team of panelists as well as other real estate experts from different parts of the real estate market.

Click here for a direct link to the Thursday chat on Clubhouse! Also, let me know if you want a copy of the “show notes” from the call!

Note that I often provide a lot more detail about the calls and follow up on my Instagram so feel free to follow me there by clicking here: @philiphorigan

Are We Finally Coming Together as an Industry? 
Over the years many of you have commented in response to my posts and emails about GreedEasy and our industry that we don’t come together enough as an industry.

I agree!

These weekly chats show us how we can come together to create greater collaboration…a place where we all can connect and learn from each other.

The feedback so far has been phenomenal and I urge you all to consider joining us! Just reply to this email and I will make sure you are all set up!  If you want to contribute to the discussion, even better!

OUR REGULAR PANELISTS (in alphabetical order):
Antonio del Rosario (Brown Harris Stevens)
Brian Lewis (Compass)
Caroline Bass (Corcoran)
Christine Toes (Compass)
Fritz Frigan (Brown Harris Stevens)
Mark D. Friedman (Brown Harris Stevens)
Nikki Beauchamp (Engel & Volkers)
Noemi Bitterman (Compass)
Scott Harris (Brown Harris Stevens)
Tracie Hamersley (Douglas Elliman)
William Bolls (Corcoran)

Why Do I Care? 
Well, as many of you know I love finding new ways for agents to collaborate with each other, share knowledge, and discover new ways to grow their business.

Also Two More Important Things:
1) I am almost finished with a prototype of a new feature on Frele.com (my newer NYC listings website) that will really help agents.  But agent spots will be limited.  The new feature is free, and will be first come first serve.  For updates so you can jump on it first, please text “Frele” to 917-540-8825.  

2) For those agents looking to increase your rental business, we have an extraordinary unique program on my site Leasebreak (#1 shorter term rental marketplace) to get rental exclusives or work with renter clients.  Get a free lead and sign up here.  No credit card or payment needed!  Get a Free Lead to Leasebreak’s Agent Lead Program.

I strongly believe in collaboration, transparency, and adding value.

Please join me. Together we can make a difference!

And remember, if you want to receive an invite to our weekly Clubhouse panel chats or get a summary of the call each week,  just reply to this email and I will help make sure you have access! (All free by the way!)

Phil Horigan, Founder:
Leasebreak#1 in shorter term rentals and pioneered the Special Lead Program: a great way for agents to get rental exclusives and work with rentersFrēlēA new free and transparent real estate marketplace.  Text “Frele” to 917-540-8825 and be part of the journey!

Dear Fellow Real Estate Agents,

Should You Be on Clubhouse? Yes!  
On Thursdays at 11am I host a weekly show on Clubhouse with top real estate agents.  We share information about the current market and strategies from some of the best agents in NYC.  If you follow me on Instagram, you have probably seen me talk about it.

[Note: Each week I send a direct link for the weekly Clubhouse talk to interested agents so they can easily listen in! If you want to receive it also, just reply to this email]

There is no doubt that Clubhouse will help many agents expand their reach and substantially grow their business.

But it is not just about getting “leads”.

Clubhouse also presents an enormous opportunity for you to learn from each other.  In fact, that is the beauty of it: the ability to connect with your peers and colleagues and share stories of lessons learned and how to do things better.

For those that feel they were late to Facebook, then Twitter, then Instagram…now is your chance to be FIRST on a hot new app! 

What is Clubhouse? 
Here is Clubhouse in a nutshell: Take out what you don’t like about Zoom, add in some social media elements, and you have Clubhouse.  How so?

First, it is audio only.  You can be on Clubhouse in your sweats or your pj’s, or while heading to an appointment, making your coffee, or driving your car!

Second, you can participate in the discussion or just listen in. Totally up to you. No pressure to “contribute”, but you can if you want to.

Third, you can just pop in and out of conversations seamlessly. If you like a “room”, you can stay and listen for an hour, or leave after two minutes.

Fourth, it is “LIVE” only. Nothing is recorded.  There is no text, only audio.

If you dislike or distrust social media because you feel a lot of it is so “inauthentic” (let’s face it, much of it is), then Clubhouse may be the app for you.  I am constantly hearing people describe it as “so authentic”.  I agree, it really feels that way.

Why Do I Care? 
Well, as many of you know I love finding new ways for agents to collaborate with each other, share knowledge, and discover new ways to grow their business.

***And of course: ANY chance for agents to get more business without being beholden to the GREEDEASY MONOPOLY BEAST is a very good thing!***

Two More Important Things:
1) I am almost finished with a prototype of a new feature on Frele.com that will really help agents.  But agent spots will be limited.  It is free, and will be first come first serve.  For updates so you can jump on it first, please text “Frele” to 917-540-8825.  

2) For those agents looking for rental exclusives or renter clients, we have an extraordinary unique program that many agents have been part of for years.  Get a free lead here:  Get a Free Lead to Leasebreak’s Agent Lead Program.

I strongly believe in collaboration, transparency, and adding value.

Please join me. Together we can make a difference! Text “Frele” to 917-540-8825 to be part of the future!

And remember, if you want to receive the direct link to the chat we have on Clubhouse each week (Thursdays at 11am), just shoot me an email and I will add you to the weekly email that goes out. 

Phil Horigan, Founder:
Leasebreak#1 in shorter term rentals and pioneered the Special Lead Program: a great way for agents to get rental exclusives and work with rentersFrēlēA new free and transparent real estate marketplace.  Text “Frele” to 917-540-8825 and be part of the journey!

Dear fellow real estate agents,

You may not be aware of this because it has not been reported, but just to let you know:

Last month the New York Times eliminated their real estate listings portal!

This means you will no longer find your listings in the New York Times.

This is truly the end of an era. Sort of sad. The New York Times was the dominant platform for listing your apartments for about a 10-year period before StreetEasy started to replace them over the last 10 years.

Interestingly, the New York Times listings portal was so desperate to regain its former glory, that in 2017 they joined forces with REBNY.  But to no avail!  Here is the article about this in Curbed from 2017.

BUT HERE IS THE IRONY!  Do you know what caused the downfall of the New York Times listings portal?

Greed!  The New York Times charged high listing fees while at the time StreetEasy was FREE!

How the tables have turned! Now StreetEasy is the greedy incumbent charging high listings fees, it’s worse: StreetEasy is also buying up competitors and forsaking transparency, all in the name of profits, profits, profits.

Fear not.  History will repeat itself.  Other competitors will come in and take market share.  But it will take time.  

Three More Important Things:

1: Want to be a panelist? I am starting a weekly real estate panel discussion with top real estate agents on the new app Clubhouse.  The first one is this Thursday 2/4 at 11am.  Anyone can listen in, ask a question, or contribute to the discussion!  Please email me if you would like to be a panelist in the future. Follow me on Clubhouse @philiphorigan to get a notification about the event.

2: I am working on a new idea that will really help brokers (for free) as part of my new listings platform Frele.com. However, agent spots will be limited.  For updates about what I am working on so you can jump on it first, please text “Frele” to 917-540-8825.  

3: For those agents looking for rental exclusives or renter clients, get a free lead here:  Get a Free Lead to Leasebreak’s Agent Lead Program.

I strongly believe in collaboration, transparency, and adding value.

Please join me. Together we can make a difference! Text “Frele” to 917-540-8825 to be part of the future!

Phil Horigan, Founder:
Leasebreak#1 in shorter term rentals and pioneered the Special Lead Program a great way for agents to get rental exclusives and work with rentersFrēlēA new free and transparent real estate marketplace.  Text “Frele” to 917-540-8825 and be part of the journey!

Dear fellow real estate agents,

Sadly (but not surprisingly), StreetEasy has recently tightened its grip on NYC real estate in a few very concerning ways:

  • Zillow/StreetEasy Gets Second NYC Brokerage License It has not been reported at all, but Zillow/StreetEasy quietly obtained a second brokerage license in NYC, this time under “Zillow Listing Services Inc”.  The first was under “Zillow Inc”.  Now they have a total of 3 licensed agents in NYC spread across two brokerages (up from 1 licensed agent earlier this year).

The noose tightens. But there’s more.

The noose tightens. But there’s more.

The noose tightens.  But there’s more.

Some of you have just given up.  StreetEasy is too powerful, you say, and that is where 90% of your leads come from.

But some of you have NOT given up. I know because I hear from so many of you.

Unfortunately, the pandemic has taken its toll on many struggling small potential StreetEasy competitors.  This makes StreetEasy even more powerful.

Thankfully, Leasebreak is one of the few smaller firms still holding up. Why? We have always made a huge bet on brokers being an integral part of the real estate process (fyi: Click to learn more about Leasebreak’s Broker Lead Program).

But Leasebreak is a niche (#1 in shorter term rentals less than 12 months).

So why not do this on a much larger scale! 

Enter Frele. I strongly believe we can apply these same “broker-friendly” principles to Frele, a new site focused more on standard 12 month rentals (and eventually sales).

But I need your help because my ideas will strongly involve YOU.  Unlike many other real estate websites that are trying to find ways to go AROUND brokers, I believe in doubling down on working WITH brokers.

Let’s face it. StreetEasy doesn’t really understand NYC real estate like you and I do. They never have.  They also clearly don’t recognize the extraordinary value that real estate agents bring to the table.

I am in the process of building something cool at Frele with a special emphasis on brokers.  If you want to come along with me on this journey and be the first to get new features, have input, make suggestions, etc. text “Frele” to 917-540-8825.

I strongly believe in collaboration, transparency, and adding value.

Phil Horigan, Founder:
Leasebreak#1 in shorter term rentals and pioneered the Special Lead Program a great way for agents to get rental exclusives and work with rentersFrēlēA new free and transparent real estate marketplace.  Text “Frele” to 917-540-8825 and be part of the journey!

Dear Real Estate Agents,

When is enough, enough?

Do we just continue to stand by and let StreetEasy dictate the terms of our listing data while charging us more and more for it?

The answer is no.  We need to act now and with the utmost urgency.

The solution is simple and entirely legal:

“The real estate industry has to create the most up to date, accurate, transparent and comprehensive listings database which can be accessed by agents and the general public for free.”

Consumers desperately need this kind of listing information.  And sadly, they aren’t getting it right now.

And who best to provide it to them? The real estate industry of course!

This is why MLS’s exist.  When run well, they contain the most up to date, accurate, transparent and comprehensive listing information.

Unfortunately we don’t have an MLS in NYC.

However, we do have something that we could make work.  We have REBNY and the RLS, and the basic structure is already in place.

But the RLS must take serious next steps to transform itself into an acting “MLS” as soon as possible.

Otherwise StreetEasy – with its current requirement for every agent to manually enter their own listings – will become the de facto MLS in addition to being the dominant consumer website.

The current situation is so dire, we don’t have much time.

Can we do it?

I know some of you may have concerns about REBNY’s ability to accomplish this.  There is no question that it will be challenging.

However, I believe the RLS can succeed if these 5 critical items are addressed immediately:

1. Create ONE backend and frontend platform for agents to ENTER, EDIT, and VIEW listings.   Agents need one common platform.  This is how successful MLS’s run across the country, and it is how we can create the most up to date, accurate, transparent and comprehensive listings database in NYC.  Currently – and to StreetEasy’s delight – different brokers enter their listing data through a myriad of different systems with different fields formatted in all different ways (OLR, RealtyMX, Perchwell, RealPlus, etc).  This makes getting the most updated and accurate data really difficult.  Also, it makes improvements in the RLS more time consuming and complicated because each time even a slight change is made in the RLS, all the systems that connect to it have to be updated as well.  This also increases the chance of errors in the listing data.  Just think how much time and cost savings could be achieved by brokerages if they no longer had to focus their resources on fixing incorrect listings!

2. Get every listing into the RLS (including those from Non-REBNY members)  To be effective, every exclusive listing for every licensed agent needs to be in the RLS.  Additionally, for rentals, every landlord listing should also make its way into the RLS.  I hope REBNY strongly considers dropping the current requirement that you can list in the RLS only if you are a REBNY/RLS paying member. To make the RLS work, we need maximum participation which equals maximum listings.  Having every listing in the RLS would dramatically benefit ALL REBNY/RLS members. Can you imagine what a powerful tool it would be for you to be able to confidently claim to your clients that you have access to the most up to date, most accurate, most transparent and comprehensive listings database in NYC?  Of course, any agent listing on the RLS would have to agree to the terms of the Universal Co-Brokerage agreement.  These details could be worked out.

3. Create a free consumer-facing RLS.  Consumers should be able to directly access listings on the RLS for free.  Since brokers have the best listing data, we should be providing it directly to consumers!  If consumers don’t get the most updated listing information from brokers, they will continue to find alternate ways (StreetEasy, etc.) to get it.  Even if this consumer-facing RLS does not have all of the bells and whistles, that is okay.  Leave the fancy features to the consumer websites and the data analytic providers.  The RLS should be focused on what it can do best: provide the most up to dateaccuratetransparent, and comprehensive listing information.

4. Change from OPT IN to OPT OUT so that your listings automatically appear on all approved consumer websites.  First the good news.  Just like the best MLS’s, the RLS syndicates your listings to approved consumer websites.  The bad news is that brokerage firms are required to take an additional confusing step of “opting in” to each consumer website.  This extra step has been a major pain point over the last two years.  As a result, agents’ listings are NOT all syndicating to REBNY-approved consumer websites.  This is really frustrating. Given the current state of things, shouldn’t we have all of our listings on as many approved consumer websites as possible?  Also without access to ALL RLS listings, new consumer websites won’t have a fighting chance to compete with StreetEasy.  For these reasons, the RLS should automatically send listings to every approved consumer website.  A brokerage firm could always choose to “opt out” of any specific website, and agents should be made aware if this occurs.

5. Communicate clearly and frequently what is happening with the RLS. Getting all brokers to use a new platform is a massive undertaking and it has to be matched with passionate and frequent communication.  Unfortunately, eight years after it was created, amazingly, the RLS is still a mystery to many agents.  Most agents still have no idea what the RLS is and what it does.  If the RLS is going to be the new comprehensive listings database in town, every agent needs to know exactly what it is and how to use it.  Perhaps the RLS could appoint a spokesperson whose sole job would be to communicate with agents, discuss progress, answer questions, regularly visit brokerage offices, and encourage feedback on an ongoing basis to continually improve the RLS in real time.

In 2020, let’s work together and harness OUR expertise as an industry.  Let’s create the most up to date, most accurate, most transparent, and most comprehensive listings database in NYC…and when we do, consumers will follow! Who’s in?

Phil Horigan, Founder:
Leasebreak#1 in shorter term rentals and pioneered the Special Lead Program a great way for agents to get rental exclusives and work with renters
Get First Peek by FrēlēWhere rentals appear before they hit the PAY TO PLAY websites like StreetEasy
FrēlēA new free and honest marketplace focused on 12 month rentals.  We may add sales in 2020.
Dear Real Estate Agents,

StreetEasy has once again demonstrated its monopolistic behavior with two new announcements that will negatively impact real estate agents and brokerages:

  • Increasing the mandatory rental fee another 33% to $6/day ($180 per month). This is the third large increase in just 2 years.
  • No longer accepting any “feeds”. This is HUGE (Read on to see how this could ensure StreetEasy’s dominance for years to come unless we act as an industry ASAP).

This first announcement is just another example of StreetEasy’s greedy desire to extract as much cash as possible from the pockets of agents.

The second announcement, however, is much more strategic and sinister. We got our first hint of their “no listing feeds” strategy early this year as I described here in January: StreetEasy’s Diaboloical Plan.

Before we dig into this more, let’s briefly review their exploitative tactics over the last few years.  We are reminded that every major announcement from StreetEasy has involved more money out of the pockets of agents and/or has made their listings marketplace less transparent.

Brief History of StreetEasy’s Exploitative Tactics
2015: Building/Neighborhood Expert. Allows agents to pay to be “expert” agents whether or not they are really “experts”
2017Premier Agent. Connects buyers’ agents with consumers in a way that is misleading to the consumer
2017Initiates Rental Listing Charge. Gouges rental agents by initiating a mandatory posting fee of $3/day/listing ($90/month).
2018Raises Rental Listing Charge. Increases the rental fee by 50% ($4.50/day/listing = $135/month)
2019Charges Fee to Remove Premier Agent. Agrees to remove the never wanted deceptive Premier Agent program from your listing if you pay $333/month/listing.
2019Initiates Referral Fee. Charges unconscionable 35% referral fee (After Premier Agent predictably fails)
2019Raises Rental Listing Charge. Raises the mandatory rental fee again by another 33% ($6/day/listing = $180/month)
2019Gets Rid of Listing Feeds.  Requires ALL agents to enter their listings manually. No longer supports any feeds.  This is huge as it has critical consequences described below for agents and brokerages.

The Real Reason StreetEasy is Cutting All Feeds
First of all, we can easily dismiss the rationale given by StreetEasy to get rid of all feeds.  It is laughable and deceptive.  They claim: “This update will allow us to deliver the best possible listings-entry experience, supporting a healthy marketplace through accurate and up-to-date listings.”

If you want the most accurate, consistent and up to date information, the very last thing you want to do is to have thousands of people individually uploading their own listings.  There is no doubt that this will cause StreetEasy to become much LESS reliable and accurate over time.

Ironically, the way StreetEasy became the most accurate and transparent website 10 year ago was by supporting feeds from every NYC brokerage.

So why get rid of the feeds that helped build the company?

Leverage. They need to maintain leverage to support their ever growing pricing power. 

MLS’s in other states have a lot of leverage over Zillow/StreetEasy.  The MLS’s control the majority of listings that feed to Zillow’s website.  MLS’s are often able to dictate the terms, or at minimum, bring enormous leverage to any negotiation process with companies like StreetEasy.

But we don’t have an MLS in NYC, and the RLS is not quite where it needs to be (yet).  

Up until this year, a huge percentage of the industry (e.g. Corcoran, Elliman) was still feeding their listings to StreetEasy.  This gave these firms a lot of leverage over StreetEasy since they could delay their feeds or threaten to even remove their feeds altogether.  It enabled these firms to negotiate better terms for their brokerage.

So, if you are StreetEasy, why not minimize any leverage brokerage firms may have over you, especially in the absence of an MLS?  By forcing manual entry StreetEasy will control the point of entry with the individual agent.  In fact, StreetEasy wants to have a direct relationship with all agents.  This will enable them to more easily impose and implement harsh new initiatives and terms as they reduce the leverage and control of the big brokerage firms and the third party providers (OLR, RealtyMX, RealPlus, Perchwell, etc.).

We need to fend off the far reaching monopolistic dominance that StreetEasy is seeking. REBNY’s efforts to make the RLS closer to an MLS is a major step in this direction, and hopefully these efforts will dramatically accelerate in 2020.  Time is of the essence.  I will have more to say about this in a future post.

Let’s work together to ensure the integrity of New York City Real Estate!

Phil Horigan
Founder,
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