Realtor.com operator Move Inc. will no longer send listings, power search or coordinate the sales of advertising to brokers and agents on AOL Real Estate after Wednesday, when the two companies end a partnership that lasted more than two years.
Move has provided listings data — homes for sale, foreclosures, new homes, off-market homes and recently sold properties — to AOL Real Estate through its syndication platform, ListHub, since August 2011.
Unlike a separate Move relationship with MSN Real Estate — which serves framed search results from realtor.com sourced directly from more than 800 multiple listing services across the U.S. — AOL received a more limited set of listings from ListHub, which aggregates data from brokerages and more than 425 MLSs.
In a statement, Move said the decision to terminate the relationship with AOL Real Estate was mutual, and that the company “does not envision business impact to our customers,” citing traffic and lead-driving initiatives.
The company said it will double down on its effort to target consumers who are on the verge of moving, through marketing campaigns with NAR, an increase in content on realtor.com, and investments to its website and branding.
Some of the new content Move can display on realtor.com include rentals, new homes and listings from non-NAR-affiliated sources thanks to amendments to the realtor.com operating agreement approved by NAR in July. Earlier this month, New York City-based The Corcoran Group became the first non-NAR-affiliated brokerage to send its existing-home listings to realtor.com.
In March, Move revamped realtor.com with a new color scheme and logo, and launched a marketing campaign geared toward consumers stressing the accuracy and timeliness of listings on the site.
Currently, realtor.com is fighting for Web market share with Zillow and Trulia, which this year have extended their lead in online market share, according to Experian Marketing Services data.
Move’s most recent consumer-focused initiative, agent-ranking platform AgentMatch, allowed users to search for agents using productivity statistics like the the number of listings and sales in the city, ZIP code or neighborhood of interest.
Testing of AgentMatch in the Las Vegas and Northern Colorado markets began in July, and was discontinued this month after some agents questioned whether statistics were an accurate measure of the services they provide to consumers. Realtor.com said it remains committed to the larger goal of creating “the most accurate and complete resource for consumers looking for a Realtor online.”
Editor’s note: This story has been updated and corrected. AgentMatch was tested in the Greater Las Vegas and Northern Colorado markets, but not in Northern California.
