No question, the internet has changed the face of real estate and everyone seems to be scrambling, trying to figure out how you win the real estate game online. There are social networking blogs, IDX data searches, mobile plug-ins for your phone, national real estate web portals and yes, syndication.
What is syndication? It’s taking a piece of information and placing it on various sources across the internet. In the past, people would make their real estate listing, blogs, and articles available for syndication, but it was based on the premise that someone had to come to find your material and then subscribe. Today, the paradigm shift is moving toward a less passive approach and to a more active approach. This means that companies are popping up that actually push and place your content for you on various websites, channels, and blogs. This move is much more aggressive than what we have done in the past and while it will reach more people, it also has its inherent problems.
For example, there are many companies that will offer to syndicate a real estate agent or company’s listings. This could be a good thing because it broadcasts properties for sale all over the internet and makes it easier for people to find yours. The problem is that there is a major disconnect between brokerage firms, syndication companies, and the web sites that display these listings. Rarely are the listings being displayed correctly, accurately, or in the places promised by the syndication companies. Sellers get upset that their homes are being displayed incorrectly, agents get blamed for putting out inaccurate information, and the syndicators blame everyone from the local MLS to the web sites receiving the listings.
So what’s the answer to syndicating real estate listings? Be careful, this process is far from perfect and still has a long way to go to work out all of the bugs. If your home is for sale and your agent is placing the listing across multiple platforms, you may want to check out a few of the more popular sites to make sure your home is being displayed correctly or displayed at all.
