The Portal War: Realtor.com Announces New Marketing Campaign Championing the Value of Buyer Agents

US number two portal Realtor.com has announced a new marketing campaign that will champion the value and skills of independent buyer agents against the backdrop of industry-shifting lawsuits.

Realtor.com's campaign will pitch itself as the friend of buyer agents in the United States, who have come under increased scrutiny for charging commissions to property sellers.

Multiple, multi-million dollar commission lawsuits continue to dominate the real estate industry in the US, and Realtor.com will take a punt on framing itself as a friend to agents by highlighting a "111 item to-do list that an independent buyer’s agent facilitates during the homebuying transaction."

The new campaign doesn't have a timeframe yet, but Realtor.com says it will cover the whole nation via print, digital and social channels.

Meanwhile, CEO Damian Eales has published an opinion article in the Wall Street Journal detailing why punishing buyer agents will "reverse" progress in the industry:

"Will it become easier or harder to buy a home? The answer is unclear amid widespread confusion over what’s happening to real-estate agent commissions.

"On April 5, a federal court determined that the Justice Department can reopen its investigation into the policies of the National Association of Realtors.

"In their effort to deliver lower costs for home buyers, federal officials and courts may inadvertently undermine consumer protections without addressing the root causes of high home prices."

With the U.S Department of Justice suggesting it wants to decouple commissions for buyers, Realtor.com's stance appears to be somewhat politically motivated—not only are we the friends of buyer agents, but we're also pushing back against the government who may leave homebuyers in the lurch should buyer agents lose their commission and therefore abdicate themselves from transactions.

Furthermore, Realtor.com's campaign may also be a strategic response to the CoStar Group's ad campaign launched in line with the Superbowl in February—perhaps with a view to reverse its own fortunes.

With CoStar's residential portal Homes.com intending to advertise itself as the friend of the listing agent ("Your Listing, Your Lead"), Realtor.com's response appears to position itself in direct competition with CoStar: targeting buyer agents instead of selling agents.

Author's note: I'm not smart enough to make heads or tails out of this one, so I'll direct readers to watch industry expert Brian Boero on our podcast, who did a much better of explaining the situation than I ever will!

Additionally, I've also shared our "number two portals" podcast for further listening. This is a major story, possibly the biggest in global real estate (alongside the Chinese Evergrande crisis) so the context should help anyone interested in finding out more.