“Zillow Group (NASDAQ: Z and ZG) today announced it has closed on the acquisition of VRX Media. This real estate media marketing and services leader is known for its aerial drone photography, virtual staging, 3D tours, high-definition photography and fast-media delivery to clients, which is made possible through the company’s national professional photographer network. Zillow Group will continue to offer VRX Media’s services through the ShowingTime+ software suite.”
Smart, and obviously a move to help Zillow compete against CoStar’s yet-to-be-announced launch of the new Homes.com which is said to offer “listing enhancement” packages.
I had made a prediction on the Industry Relations podcast that CoStar might buy Matterport because Matterport had recently bought VHT Studios which also had a nationwide professional photographers network. I guess Zillow thought it was a good idea too.
Thank you, next? In another sign that MLS organizations are starting to take control of their own destinies, Katie Smithson has left Zillow and taken a senior position at CRMLS.
CRMLS Appoints Katie Smithson as new Chief Revenue Officer
CHINO HILLS, Calif., November 7, 2022 — On November 15th, California Regional MLS (CRMLS) will welcome their latest executive appointment, Katie Smithson in the role of Chief Revenue Officer (CRO). Smithson is a long-time veteran in the real estate industry with a history of MLS relation management and product innovation. Smithson has been in the real estate industry for 14 years, most recently as Director of MLS Relations for Bridge Interactive with Zillow.
In her new role, Smithson will be directing revenue operations, ensuring proper communication and collaboration between all the revenue-generating departments at CRMLS. She will be charged with improving customer satisfaction, product strategy, and sales performance.
“We’re looking forward to welcoming Katie to the CRMLS Executive Team,” says CRMLS CEO Art Carter. “Her experience is invaluable, and I am confident that she will be a great addition to the company as the MLS industry evolves and CRMLS moves forward as a company. “
“I am excited to join the extremely talented team at CRMLS,” says Smithson. “I’ve worked with them for years and always admired the caliber of leadership, so when this opportunity came along, it only made sense to say yes. I am inspired by the vision CRMLS has and can’t wait to help shape the future of our industry.”
As a vendor in the MLS Industry Smithson has an extensive track record of success in building B2B relationships, increasing returns, and developing product offerings. She has also served as a NAR REACH mentor, a board member for the Council of MLS with a CMLX 1 certification, and RESO Board Secretary.
About California Regional Multiple Listing Service (CRMLS)
California Regional MLS is the nation’s largest and most recognized subscriber- based MLS, dedicated to servicing more than 110,000 real estate professionals from 41 Associations, Boards, and MLS organizations. CRMLS is the industry powerhouse and thrives on providing the most relevant products and services to its subscribers. For more information on CRMLS, visit www.crmls.org.
“The brand, dubbed ShowingTime+, is the latest development in Zillow’s ongoing attempts to build a “housing super app.” As it’s name implies, the brand includes popular showing management platform ShowingTime, as well as other offerings such as dotloop and Bridge Interactive. When the company announced the move Monday, it framed ShowingTime+ as an effort to win over agents.
But in the days following the announcement, the response from industry professionals has been mixed at best.”
I’m not sure this “mixed at best” statement is that fair. I mean, how many agents did they really talk to? But I do have some thoughts about what I think Zillow got right and wrong with the launch.
What they got right.
I think it’s super smart to put the teams together. ShowingTime, dotLoop and Bridge Interactive have a ton of smart people so getting them to work together as one makes a ton of sense. I think this move alone was worth the effort.
What they got wrong.
First, I think there was a missed opportunity in the naming. Never mind the lazy addition of a “+” to the end of ShowingTime, which I’ve already joked about. It’s been a minute since the acquisition of ShowingTime and things seem to have settled. But leading with the name “ShowingTime” has seemed to have caused agents to bring out the pitchforks again. Don’t get me wrong, I think ShowingTime is a great company and service, but it now has…baggage. I have to think either renaming ShowingTime or at least giving the umbrella brand (bundle?) a new name with ShowingTime underneath might have been a better option.
The final thing is a head-scratcher for me. Leadership. Why isn’t Errol Samuelson leading this effort? I don’t know Jun Choo. He seemed to have impressed Zillow’s leadership and has some OG creds, all the way back to HouseValues.com. Maybe Errol didn’t want it? But all these products touch MLS in some shape or form and I’ve always thought of Errol as one of the best product guys in the industry. That’s who I would want as my quarterback.
Word about this has been out there for a couple of weeks but Adrese made it official on his LinkedIn page. I was a bit surprised about the move, but you can’t fault Zillow for having an eye for talent.
I first met Adrese some 25 years ago, he had made the move from PRC/Interealty to OCMLS, which became SoCalMLS then CRMLS. You can’t be any more OG than belonging to the PRC mafia.
I also hear there has been a significant reorg in the agent product and industry relations team at Zillow. Along with these new strategic changes, I think we will see more new faces and some old ones departing. Developing…
“When we looked at VHT Studios and the work they do, it was a natural fit to unite our efforts to reimagine the fragmented process that was in place for brokers and agents to list properties and prospective buyers to view them,” says Matterport CEO RJ Pittman. “We are not only excited for how we can transform the customer experience in the real estate industry but also how we can apply VHT Studios’ expertise to our growing enterprise business as demand for digital twin technology continues to surge.”
Smart. Zillow was ordered to pay VHT Studios2 million dollars for copyright infringement. Much less than VHT was originally asking for. I wonder if VHT (now Matterport) will appeal that ruling.
“MetroList®, the largest Multiple Listing Service (MLS) in Northern California, has introduced MetroList.com, a relaunch of the MetroList public-facing website. MetroList.com boasts many next-generational features that provide consumers with the most accurate database of properties for sale and recently sold in Northern California. As an added member benefit, every MetroList subscriber is provided with their own branded MetroList.com agent IDX searchable website.”
I think the switch to Metrolist.com from MetrolistMLS.com was smart. The site is on par with most listing portals, although I do prefer MetroList’s listing details page (single larger photo) over Zillow. Another thing I did appreciate is that the site is pretty snappy. Nice job MetroList!
Back to the future baby! I will be co-moderating the Tech & Data Track at Inman Connect Las Vegas this year with none other than Zillow’s greatest acquisition, Katie Smithson.
So join us for the content, stay for all the inside jokes and if you have any topics you like us to us cover DM either of us.
“An email sent by Steve Dawson, REX’s chief compliance officer, to the company’s salaried agents Thursday afternoon read: “Starting immediately, please transfer your license over to a new brokerage of your choice. This needs to be completed by day’s end tomorrow.” The note bolded “day’s end.”
Nice scoop from Real Trends. Boies‘ latest clients include Theranos, Harvey Weinstein, and accusers against Jeffery Epstein.
This week on Industry Relations, Rob and Greg go head to head on MLS data. They debate whether the MLS industry will die with Zillow when Rob’s proverbial asteroid hits. Greg disagrees and wants to see a future between MLS and CoStar.
Enjoy this episode on your favorite podcast player.
