Lead generation has long been a critical part of the real estate industry. A definition of lead generation can be seen in the embedded short video.
In recent years, the lead generation business model has seen a significant shift. This evolution targets both seller and buyer leads driven by agents, focusing on lead qualification and a success fee (also known as a commission share model).
As an entrepreneur with a focus on the real estate industry, Ryan Mahoney of Dubai, UAE, has an interest in seeing where this next-generation lead generation will take the sector.
Buyer and Seller Lead Generation
World-leading international real estate portals are making significant investments in next-gen lead gen technology to increase buyer and seller leads. In the US, which is a market leader when it comes to real estate, the focus is primarily on monetizing buyer leads. Internationally, some of the biggest platforms are concentrating their efforts on maximizing seller leads.
To date, the most effective way to reach sellers and generate leads is through offering tools for property valuations. These leads can then be qualified and called directly through the portal, before being handed to a partner agent. Many companies are now able to offer services such as these in just minutes.
Commission Share
The second element of next-gen lead gen is commission share, whereby agents pay a percentage of their commission back through the funnel to the portal that generated the lead, should that lead result in a transaction. This commission share can vary but is typically in the region of a third. Portal revenue is increasingly being made up of commission share income.
Zillow’s Flex Model
One prominent example of next-gen lead gen in action comes with Zillow’s Flex model.
With the Flex model, Zillow aims to double its Premier Agent business as soon as 2025. The strategy involves extracting more revenue from commissions and doubling down on agent-led lead generation – a ‘back-to-basics’ strategy that many big tech companies are now imitating.
The infographic attachment looks at some of the top global statistics for the real estate market in 2022.