Comments on: Is Zillow Flex Worth the 35% Referral Fee?

By: Kelli G.

Kelli G. — Tue, 26 Sep 2023 00:52:37 +0000

Thanks for the great article. We are super blessed to have been chosen to be a Zillow Flex Team – and one thing that I can say is while I agree that is an expensive referral fee, the referrals that we get from our Zillow clients that love our five star service and share us with their friends and family, have a ZERO percent referral fee ;>) more transactions = more opportunities. We have calculated an additional 4.8M in referrals from past Z clients. In addition, your market base pricing is incredibly low for CA. Top ZP Agents in my market are spending upwards of $1,100 per lead. If I multiplied that times my 75 leads per month, I’d be spending $82K. Now let’s say I am required to convert 3 to be equivalent to market base pricing it might look something like this… $800K average sales price x 2.5% x 35% = $21K paid to Zillow vs $82,500 that I would pay for the same lead flow/what my competitor might pay for the same thing but with zero risk. Maybe it’s just me but I LOVE being part of Flex, it has really forced me to run tighter margins, and to also manage my buyers agents more efficiently. I’ve stepped up my automation, refined my CRM, and feel like the extra lead flow keeps my agents motivated. Just wanted to offer another perspective to a great article! Thanks, Kelli G.

By: Emily Flanders

Emily Flanders — Fri, 06 Jan 2023 22:24:52 +0000

Hi! I an an agent in the Nashville market- I would love to join the FLEX program- I have reached out several times and no luck talking with anyone. Please help!! Emily

By: Chris Linsell

Chris Linsell — Mon, 22 Aug 2022 16:12:02 +0000

In reply to FYI. Thanks for the comment. I've seen lots of different reports on closing ratios for Zillow Flex. This number is based on the interviews we did with Zillow Flex agents. Chris

By: Chris Linsell

Chris Linsell — Mon, 08 Aug 2022 14:54:49 +0000

In reply to LMMS.

Hi Lori –

Thanks for sharing your experiences and perspective. We’d love to update / confirm the data in this article. As of this morning, Zillow has yet to answer a single email or phone regarding our requests for more information about the platform, the tools available, etc. While we understand every company has their own priorities, the lack of communication makes it hard to keep content up to date.

Again, thank you for your comment!

Chris

By: LMMS

LMMS — Wed, 03 Aug 2022 19:53:44 +0000

Hello – I am both an agent and married to a Zillow Flex employee… First, the info in this article is dated. I don’t want to get spouse into trouble by divulging info that should come from Z, but the markets in this article are inaccurate. SO- One of my teams declined Flex because my MB didn’t want to grow her team and only 3 (of 7) were open to taking Flex leads. A prior brokerage DID accept Flex but is now in ‘disengagement’ bc
1) her post-Zillow splits were not advantageous to her agents, (meaning she kept all at 50/50 or 60/40 her)
2) and her “customer satisfaction” scores were below the 90%-or-higher avg threshold they require. – (Net-net: She can’t keep agents and Z’s line in sand for satisfaction was not met = Great for customers.)

No downline: first transaction only. WOM/ repeat biz, etc is now brokerage’s/ agent’s relationship and not tracked. My husband’s most successful brokerages have netted millions in profit- (not revenue) – and pretty alarming $.
Is it for everyone? No. We just relo’d and I’m trying to decide myself whether joining a new Flex brokerage in my new state is advantageous for me or not since I’m in a new market – It really does vary depending on each brokerage’s ability (MB/DB + ops) to max the biz model. It is NOT a cut/dry formula. Brokerages must be ready and agents must be competent and answer – the good with the bad…

BTW, the CRM ties into all the major systems so it’s not either/or… but Z needs to monitor engagement so agent updates are mandatory and brokerage ops need to be competently synch’d. The metrics however, are exceedingly useful to smart brokers –unmatched! My Premiere agent brokers used many vendors whom I found frustrating or hype. (My 2nd was a KW team.) 100% of my first 15 residential closes in year 1.5 were Zillow Premiere leads and worth $15MM, ranging from $300K condos to $3MM SFR. So I am pro-Z overall. My crap leads experiences came from Opcity & Ylopo and the brokerage’s branded systems — plus some other auto-dialer my first broker used for ISDs. (Of course my spouse was thrilled to see this firsthand…)

By: FYI

FYI — Wed, 03 Aug 2022 16:10:23 +0000

Good article except for the most critical fact. Your closing ratio for Zillow is way off. Where did you get the 10% closing ratio (Zillow I Bet). There’s a good article in Inman showing Zillow’s closings compared to its inquiries, it’s actually 1.8%. I believe even that’s a high number, at least in the Atlanta real estate market.

By: Vaughn

Vaughn — Wed, 20 Jul 2022 20:33:29 +0000

Where is the dislike thumbs down button?

By: FYT

FYT — Wed, 20 Jul 2022 15:23:19 +0000

It is not free to start if you have to be a Premier agent to participate. I was a Zillow agent many years ago and for the 3 years of participation I closed about 4 leads. The last year one of my clients laughed as he said I can’t believe you stuck with me for a year. Well he was the only good lead I got off Zillow. And I service all my leads. I had the concierge service and most leads were either tire kickers; had no credit,or were chasing a fake listing. Yes Zillow has fake listings. So I put my effort into my website and my brokerage join Realtor’s Opcity. Opcity has turned out to be low priced clients that has almost no homes in my area ($450+ range) Leads wanting <$200k. Another agent has fairly good luck with Opcity but has a team of 5 so any one of those can capture the lead when it comes across. Opcity is not exclusive. It is first grab and does not work well with Android phones. I would recommend people build their presence on the web because the rules / costs for these type of programs will not affect one as much. I personally explain to clients that Zillow only ranks agents based on how they pay Zillow. I am about 5-6 pages in on the agent list but am #1 in google searches. My business has doubled year after year and this year I have already exceeded last year's sales. Have not paid for leads in more than 2-3 years. I will do a referral program because it is a lead that I might not have had so like my old partner used to day 30% of a sale beats zero but never upfront.

By: Chris Linsell

Chris Linsell — Tue, 21 Jun 2022 10:16:47 +0000

In reply to yogann henry.

Hi Yogann –

Thanks for the question. Zillow Flex is a contract-based service, meaning, every time they refer a new client to you, you sign a contract specific to that referral. So, they know.

Good luck!

Chris

By: yogann henry

yogann henry — Wed, 15 Jun 2022 12:14:49 +0000

Hi, If we adhere to this Zillow flex business model, how do they have the ability to ensure that we got the lead through their website.