Realtor.com CEO Damian Eales addressed the traffic rivalry with Homes.com and why competition is good for agents and consumers.
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Real estate’s portal war has intensified over the past year, as newcomer Homes.com shook the industry with claims that it had surpassed Realtor.com as the nation’s second-most trafficked home search platform.
Since the October announcement, CoStar Group founder and CEO Andy Florance has continued to throw barbs at the 28-year-old brand by reasserting claims that Homes.com has more than 100 million monthly unique visitors — a statistic that would, at least on the surface, place it comfortably ahead of the pack.
While most would expect Florance’s jabs to get under Realtor.com CEO Damian Eales’ skin, the newly minted leader told the Inman Connect New York crowd that he welcomes the competition from fellow portals.
“When somebody brings a knife to the fight, I say that’s not a knife — this is the knife,” he said referencing Crocodile Dundee. “I love it. I wake up excited and our team is energized by competition and I think that’s great for everybody in this room.”
“Whether you’re a Realtor who wants to get better value and better service, you’ll get it through great competition,” he added. “Whether you’re a technology company who’s looking to do business with one of us, you will be able to leverage that. It’s good for [buyers and sellers] and Realtors alike.”
Eales avoided calling Florance dishonest; however, he said data from media measurement and analytics company Comscore paints a different picture about Homes.com’s place in the battle to dethrone Zillow.
“Andy’s a terrific competitor, but he’s got his work cut out for him,” he said. “If you’re not marking your…