Zillow Zilches FSBO, How to Find Yourself (on google), Analytics That's A Must!

Tuesday Tips for Realtors: 04/15/2025

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FYI: Newly launched events for Agents and Clients!

• If you want to improve your mortgage skills, check out Mortgage Essentials for Realtors. It's free and held every Thursday at 10:00 AM CST.

• Have a client who could use some extra education on mortgages, send them to Mortgage Basics Decoded: Smart Moves for Buyers and Homeowner (Webinar Tuesdays @ 6:30 pm CST).

  OR

  Coffee and Credit @ Collective Coffee (In Person - Friday Mornings Downtown McKinney)

ALSO: MyLendingPro.com has been upgraded in the last two weeks from a Linktr.ee to an actual website with live chat direct with me (no AI or overseas people). Soon, I will have a section for the Pro Network, Events, and some other goodies for people!

Check it out and let me know what you think!

Top Story:

Zillow Zilches FSBO

Zillow’s New FSBO Shakeup: What Changed and What It May Mean To The Industry

Coming in May 2025, Zillow will implement a major policy change that impacts how For Sale By Owner (FSBO) and other non-MLS listings appear on their platform. The change, which also affects Trulia (another Zillow Group site), will have significant implications for sellers, buyers, and real estate professionals. Here’s the latest on what has changed, along with some pros and cons. Reading up on this change, I did not realize how much Zillow had its hand in, so I included a comprehensive list of Zillow’s tools with some non-Zillow alternatives for each in case you are trying to fight the power.

What Factually Changed About Zillow’s FSBO Rules

With all the social media accusations out there, here is what I have gathered through various resources (including some AI research). As of May 2025, Zillow no longer displays home listings unless they originate from a Multiple Listing Service (MLS). Previously, sellers and agents could manually post properties directly to Zillow, including FSBO listings and those marketed outside the MLS. Now, only listings entered into a participating MLS will be featured on Zillow and its apps.

Zillow has publicly stated its concerns about “pocket listings”—properties marketed privately or to a limited audience. Zillow’s new policy is built on three principles: accuracy, timeliness, and inclusivity. The company asserts that MLS listings are more up-to-date and accessible to all buyers, creating a fairer marketplace. There are rare exceptions for sellers who need privacy or have safety concerns, but these listings will not be marketed publicly on Zillow or elsewhere online.

Zillow claims that sellers who bypassed the MLS received, on average, $4,975 less for their properties, resulting in an estimated $1 billion in lost value across the U.S. in 2023 and 2024.

Benefits of the New Policy

• Transparency and Accuracy: MLS listings are typically real-time and vetted by licensed professionals, reducing the risk of outdated/inaccurate information.

• Fair Game: All publicly marketed listings have to go through the MLS, ensuring every buyer has equal access to available properties. Potentially increasing listing visibility and lead to a higher sales price.

Negatives and Criticisms

• Reduced FSBO Visibility: FSBO listings will no longer have an outlet through Zillow, which has been criticised of not being a very friendly platform toward these transaction types.

• Higher Costs for Sellers: FSBO sellers will need to pay for a flat-fee MLS service or hire an agent, which will increase their sales costs.

Wrapping up this topic

Zillow’s new policy marks a significant shift toward MLS-centric listings, aiming to create a more transparent and “they make the rules” type of marketplace. While it benefits buyers and agents by increasing accuracy and exposure, it poses new challenges for FSBO sellers and those seeking privacy. Be sure to be in the know about these policies to be an advocate for your client and the industry as they hear various interpretations online about Zillow’s policy change.

Top Growth Tip:

How Searchable Are You?

How Real Estate Agents to Boost SEO for Your Name and “Realtor”

There is a whole industry created just to improve rankings on SEO. Recently, I myself have started to go through and find out how to improve my SEO, so i thought it would be great to share with you all.

Your name is your brand, after all. So, if someone searches “Your Name Realtor,” what would the results show? Would they even find you?

Ideally, you would want potential clients to find your company website, social media profiles, and listings to appear at the top of the search results. Below is some practical information to improve the SEO of “Your Name Realtor” to improve the feasibility of finding your information on all platforms. Also, I included some information on hashtags and how they can still play a role in your SEO strategy.

1. Optimize Your Website and Profiles for Your Name + “Realtor”

• Use Your Name Consistently: Make sure your full name and the word “realtor” appear together in your company website’s website(or your personal branded homepage). Your company will take care of meta description (verbiage on web searches), but if you have your own page, make sure the meta description is updated to match exactly how you want it to reflect. For example: “Jane Smith, Realtor in Denver, CO.”

• Localize Your Keywords: For better local SEO, add your city or neighborhood to your name and “realtor,” e.g., “Jane Smith Realtor Austin TX.” This will help you show up in searches for both your name and local real estate queries.

• Long-Tail Keywords: Use specific phrases like “best realtor for first-time buyers in [Your City]” in your bios, blog posts, and property descriptions to attract high-intent leads.

2. Update All Listing Sites, Company Pages, and Social Profiles

• Audit Your Online Presence: Make a list of every site where your name appears—your personal website, brokerage profile, Zillow, Realtor.com, Homes.com, Google Business, LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, and any others. You would be surprised how many of your have information out there from 2-3 brokerages ago. Keep pride in this information being accurate everywhere!

• Consistent “NAP”: Ensure your Name, Address, and Phone Number (NAP) are identical everywhere. Consistency is key for search engines to trust and rank your profiles.

• Claim and Optimize Profiles: Fill out every field, use a professional photo, and include “Your Name Realtor” in your bio and headline. Don’t forget to update your Linktr.ee or similar link aggregators with your latest links and keywords.

3. Leverage Hashtags for Social SEO

• Branded Hashtags: Create a unique hashtag with your name, e.g., #JaneSmithRealtor, and use it on every post. This builds a digital trail and helps clients find your content easily.

• Local and Niche Hashtags: Use hashtags with your city, neighborhood, and specialty, like #AustinRealtor, #DenverLuxuryHomes, or #FirstTimeBuyerExpert. These help your posts appear in local and niche searches.

• Industry Hashtags: To increase reach and engagement, add popular real estate hashtags such as #Realtor, #RealEstateAgent, #HomeBuying, and #JustListed. AI can help you find new or trending hashtags; just ask it!

4. Maximize Indexing and Visibility

• Google Business Profile: Claim and fully optimize your Google Business profile. This is huge for local SEO and helps your name appear in Google’s “Local Pack” and Maps. It can be tough, but it makes a huge difference!

  • Watch for Scammers who charge to help!

• Schema Markup: Ask your web developer to add “Person” and “RealEstateAgent” schema to your website. This helps search engines understand who you are and what you do.

• Regular Content Updates: Blogging on a website helps your site stay active and relevant in the eyes of search engines. Keep the posts about local market trends, client success stories, and real estate tips using your name and “realtor” in the content. Fresh content signals to search engines that your site is active and relevant.

5. How Long Does It Take to See SEO Results?

Improving SEO for your name and “realtor” is not an overnight. Just like this career, if you are in it for the long haul you need to be in it for the long haul with your SEO. With consistent effort—updating profiles, optimizing your website, and posting regularly—most agents see noticeable improvements in 3 to 6 months. Depending on the area it could take long.

Quick SEO Checklist for Realtors

• Use your name + “realtor” in all bios, titles, and descriptions

• Update every listing and social profile for consistency

  • Cross post/reference site links as much as possible!

• Claim and optimize your Google Business profile

• Use branded, local, and industry hashtags on social media

• Regularly publish content with your name and target keywords

• Monitor your search results monthly and adjust as needed

  • Icognito/Duck Duck Go will give you accurate results based on a clean search history.

Bottom Line:
You need to invest a half-day into establishing your profiles to fit your SEO characteristics and maybe another half-day to improve them. After that, it is just a habit of posting links, hashtags, and maybe blogging to help with your SEO your name and brand.

I have SEO Pros in this space, but if you want some free pointers, I am happy to help!

Top Lending Real Estate Tip:

All things Altos

Boring Data could make you the most interesting person in the room.

I will make this one quick. If you do not know who Mike Simonsen is, you need to. Follow his stuff on Altos Research on YouTube and dedicate about 20 minutes of your week to watching his posts about the market. Hint: Increasing playback cuts this time in half!

Fair warning, so don’t judge him on tone. That’s not a dig at him, you can only sound so excited when talking data. Be sure to sit and really hear what he has to say. This stuff will make you so much better at what you do!

Mike is easily one of the top data experts in the county when it comes to real estate. His videos are much more national, but the insights are amazing for understanding the big picture of real estate. He easily describes what is driving it, threatening it, and where it could go, considering all the drama going on at the time.

Is he right 100% of the time? No. No one is, but he is so easy to understand, has the work history to support his insights, and just seems like he really cares about our industry.

There is a free market report to test if you want one zip code a month; just sign up with your email. It’s fairly insightful!

I chose this video because it gives great insight into housing supply changes and how rates/demand may give us an interesting spring market over the next 60-90 days!

Quick Rate Reference guide for 4/15/2025: ⬇️

The following rates are for visuals to help you see where rates are. These are never final and are intended to be a more realistic look than what you find advertised on popular sites. All rates are subject to client scenarios and are subject to change. Thank you for using common sense when reviewing! 😊

Overview:

• National APR caught up with the roller coaster we were on.

• Rates and/or APRs are much better than they were at the end of last week. If your clients are happy with their payment terms, it may be best to lock.

  • We have a long time until our next fed meeting and an emergency cut doesn’t seem to be as popular as an idea as it was reported on earlier this month.

• Investment properties qualifying off rental income only are the winners this week.

  • If you know someone who wants an investment property but doesn’t want to show their tax returns, let’s talk!

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