By Colleen Barry, Chief Executive Officer, Gibson Sotheby’s International Realty
Years ago, Zestimates were the bane of our existence. The erratic predictions could be close or they could be wildly off, creating tension between the listing agent and their client. One of my agents told me she was printing out the Zestimate before each listing appointment and bringing it with her. I asked why she would do that. Her answer was simple: “I know my client has seen it. I can’t shy away from it. I actually have to bring it with me so we can have a good conversation about it.”
That printout became a symbol of something bigger. Our industry was changing fast. Control over information was slipping. And the agents who succeeded weren’t the ones pretending the shift wasn’t happening. They met their clients at the data point their clients were seeing.
We’re in a similar moment now. Maybe a bigger one.
For the past thirty years, real estate listing distribution has followed a pattern. A problem emerges. Someone solves it. The solution works so well that it becomes powerful. Power tempts profit. And when profit becomes the goal instead of the solution, the whole system fractures again.
It started with MLS books, faxes, and newspaper classifieds. Local MLSs pulled things together, though not really, because every region had different MLSs with different access. Then newspapers went online. Third-party distribution companies emerged, sharing MLS listings. Zillow came in and did something radical: it gathered all those fractured databases into one searchable portal. Suddenly, consumers could see listings in one place instead of bouncing between ten different websites.
It was brilliant. It was also too powerful to leave alone.
Over time, Zillow didn’t just aggregate listings. It started gathering business. Mortgage products. Advertising. A real estate marketplace. It began selling leads back to the agents whose listings it was showing. And the industry pushed back hard.
That pushback is what you’re seeing now. Compass is building its own ecosystem. Real estate companies are striking exclusive deals with different portals. Coming-soon listing options are launching on MLSs and being fed to certain portals. Google is quietly entering the search space, pulling listings into its AI-powered summaries. The market is splintering again, and this time, the consumer is the one paying the price in confusion.
Here’s what matters for you as an agent: Your clients are already navigating this fragmentation. They’re using AI search tools. They’re seeing Google summaries alongside traditional portals. They’re looking at estimates and valuations that may or may not match reality. And they’re bringing all of that uncertainty into their conversations with you.
Just like the agents with their Zestimate printouts, you can’t pretend this isn’t happening. You have to lean into it.
That means understanding the landscape. Testing the tools your clients are using. Knowing what AI is showing them about neighborhoods, prices, and homes. Not because you’re afraid of these tools, but because you’re curious about them—because your job is to help your clients make sense of information, not to hide from it.
The companies that will win this next phase aren’t the ones trying to own the consumer or control the data. They’ll be the ones making it easier for consumers to understand what’s real and what’s noise. They’ll be the ones helping their agents stay a step ahead of the tools so they can guide their clients through them.
That’s the work ahead. And it starts with not being afraid.
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