StreetEasy — the New York City listing portal that Zillow Group bought for $50 million — will soon tack lead forms onto listings that connect consumers with buyer’s agents who advertise with Zillow Group.
The lead forms, which will be added to listings on March 1, will wrap marketing on StreetEasy into Zillow Group’s Premier Agent ad product. Premier Agent advertisers currently only receive leads that are generated by ads on Zillow and Trulia.
But with the addition of the contact forms to StreetEasy, advertisers will gain the ability to receive leads from StreetEasy, Zillow and Trulia — not just the second two.
The Premier Agent contact forms that appear on Zillow and Trulia feature specific agents, but the forms that will show up on StreetEasy listings will not. They are “opaque” contact forms without lists of agent names and photos, said StreetEasy spokeswoman Lauren Riefflin.
By default, when consumers submit the forms on StreetEasy listings, their information will go to a buyer’s agent that advertises with Zillow Group. But consumers also can click a button on the form to send their information to the listing agent instead.
The lead forms won’t appear on new-development listings or listings over $10 million. And agents who are logged into StreetEasy will only be able to contact the listing agent through a listing page.
StreetEasy’s point of view
By sparking connections between homebuyers and buyer’s agents, the product will benefit Big Apple consumers, StreetEasy said.
“It is crucial for home shoppers to have a buyer’s agent on their side, helping them analyze information and protecting their interests during the shopping and purchasing process,” said StreetEasy General Manager Susan Daimler in a statement.
How listings currently appear on StreetEasy.
“Premier Agent is a game changer that will help facilitate these connections and fuel new streams of business for real estate agents.”
Broker dissent
Though consumer advocates agree that buyer agency benefits consumers, some brokers aren’t so hot on the change.
They’re concerned the ads may direct leads previously bound for listing agents to buyer’s agents, The Real Deal reports.
That could reportedly force more listing agents to share commissions with buyer’s agents that they might otherwise have kept all for themselves.
Some firm leaders at major New York firms are reportedly suggesting a boycott of the platform.
Premier Agent allows real estate agents to purchase advertising on for-sale listing pages within specific ZIP codes.
It also makes tools including Zillow Group’s lead concierge service and a lead-management mobile app available to advertisers.
Premier Agent will be a new option for StreetEasy advertisers. The listing portal will continue to separately offer its existing ad products: enhanced profiles, listing promotion in property search results, and ads on building pages that are similar to Premier Agent ads.
StreetEasy is the rare example of a regional listing portal that rivals or even surpasses the popularity of the national portals in its market, partly explaining why Zillow Group decided to acquire the site for $50 million.
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to clarify that StreetEasy lead forms will not feature specific agents.
