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Web 2.0 is changing Real Estate again...

HouseValues got a lot of people talking this week. Questions about the long term survivability of the company echoed through the blogosphere, much of it spurred on by the grumbling of ex-employees.
As one of the highest profile real estate 1.0 web properties, I believe HouseValues’ troubles are ultimately a result of the macro changes that are happening right across this industry. It’s pretty clear. Real estate professionals are no longer the gatekeepers of information.
On the surface however, HouseValues has not evolved. It’s main sites JustListed.com and HouseValues.com still treat consumers and real estate agents like children and are obviously little more than lead capture tools. Homepages.com is so confusing and poorly designed, it borders on being virtually unusable.
In the past, there may have been few other options to turn to; but consumers these days have many more friendly data sources to choose from - Trulia or Zillow, Redfin or Shackprices, and Cyberhomes just to name a few. HouseValues, who built their business selling leads on to agents, is under the very real threat of losing that business as consumers and struggling real estate agents wise up.
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