HOUSINGNEWS REPORT
LEAD ARTICLE
The Off-Market Housing Market
BY PETER MILLER, STAFF WRITER
There’s a strange omission from the long list of industries vanquished, disrupted, and dismantled by the Internet. Retail chains are closing, cabs are not being hailed, and hotel rooms are going empty.
That isn’t stopping would-be MLS disrupters like REX Real Estate from trying.
digital marketing to show homes directly to potential homebuyers,” explains Ari Sternberg, VP of Digital Marketing at REX, in a blog post. “We target buyers based on their geography, demographics, preferences, and even online behaviors.” One by-product of working outside the MLS system is that REX has a different approach to commissions. The company says that “on average, thanks to our 2 percent all-in fee, REX
“REX homes are not on the MLS and never will be,” says the company, which is active in Southern California and New York’s Long Island. “We advertise directly to buyers on the Internet, not to brokers. REX homes are on Google, Zillow, Trulia, Yahoo and other places buyers search.”
But amid the rumble and ruin of traditional commerce, multiple listing services (MLS) remain remarkably impervious to disruption.
“Instead of using the MLS to advertise homes to agents, we use sophisticated
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OCTOBER 2017 | ATTOM DATA SOLUTIONS
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