ZipRealty has signed up Charlotte, N.C.-based Wilkinson & Associates Real Estate ERA Powered as the 17th brokerage in its Powered by Zip referral and tech network.
ZipRealty launched the Powered by Zip platform in 2011 as part of a restructuring that included closing brokerage operations in 15 markets. The company continues to operate as a brokerage in 19 markets.
In Powered by Zip markets, ZipRealty supplies partner brokerages with leads and lead management tools. ZipRealty.com displays all of the Internet Data Exchange (IDX) listings sourced from multiple listing services in each partner broker’s market, including properties represented by other brokers.
Wilkinson & Associates, which has four offices and 600 agents, is the first brokerage to join the network since former Microsoft exec Xavier Zang took the helm as president of the Powered by Zip business in June.
“It’s an exciting step forward,” Zang said.
About 15 of Wilkinson & Associates’ agents will start out using ZipRealty through the Powered by Zip platform with more to be added later as the brokerage chooses to open the relationship up to more of its agents, Zang said.
“Through the (Powered by Zip) platform, real estate agents, current and potential home buyers and sellers now have access to the most comprehensive home search data via their mobile devices and the Web at ZipRealty.com,” said Scott Wilkinson, president of Wilkinson & Associates, in a statement.
ZipRealty reported that 10 percent of its $21.7 million in revenue in the second quarter came from Powered by Zip operations, along with marketing alliances and advertising services.
“Our three primary objectives within Powered by Zip are broadening the client base with additional brokerage clients, more deeply penetrating the agent bases within our existing partners, and working on our product, lead gen and marketing to bring more transaction on the PbZ platform,” said ZipRealty CEO Lanny Baker during the firm’s second-quarter earnings call.
“We’ve grown Powered by Zip from idea to a multimillion-dollar business,” Baker added.
