iHeartRadio’s Victoria Rivadeneira on Zillow’s Instant Offer Controversy and the future of realtors in the Digital Age
Earlier this year Zillow launched a new Instant Offer platform. Zillow allows homeowners to connect directly with investors and sell their homes without an agent.
With instant offer sellers are primed to receive cash offers from private investors. Additionally, Zillow provides market analysis from a local agent. This model leaves sellers with three choices.
1. Accept the offer
2. Accept the offer and have an agent manage the transaction
3. Reject the offer and list the property on MLS with an agent
The controversy centers around the first possibility. Ralph sat down with Victoria Rivadeneira, an industry leader with decades of expereince and host of iHeartRadio’s Real Estate Talk to discuss the disadvantages and realities of Zillow’s Instant Offer.
Victoria argues against Instant Offer being the new vanguard for real estate or the program signaling the end of the agent.
“I think that it’s just a different avenue to explore for sellers. Not every seller is going to do this but there are sellers that will. I think for the realtors that are upset about it, it’s very similar to when the internet came about. Prior to that, real estate agents really were the gatekeepers of information and they would hold that information. If you wanted to see a house you had to come into the office and they were taught to get you into the office and that’s just the way it was.”
Victoria maintains that adaptability is the key to moving forward in today’s digitalizing real estate climate. “When the internet came out everyone started jumping up and down because it was change. They said well this is going to put us out of business. That really wasn’t the case at all. What happened is those that really were just the gatekeepers of information, they fell to the wayside. Those who understood how to roll with these changes they made this work.” The same can be said about the new advent of Zillow’s Instant Offer.
While there are compelling arguments to be found on both sides of this controversy it appears that Instant Offer is another step forward for technology and for the role of sellers in the marketplace. If traditional real estate agents can adapt to these changes they will continue to operate as viable and essential members of the real estate market.
