Australia’s real estate marketplace REA Group is valued at $5 billion. REA Group’s former CEO Simon Baker asks: Does that mean that Zillow and Trulia, which are currently valued at a fraction of that amount, will be worth many billions more when they mature?
A fundamental difference between the operation of real estate in the U.S. and Australia hampers Zillow and Trulia’s ability to dominate in a similar way, Baker notes.
“In the U.S.,” he writes, “there is much less incentive to market property as the main advertising vehicle is the (multiple listing service). Therefore, any other marketing on top of this is more about vanity than really marketing of the property. It is often about helping the agent to promote themselves to find the next buy or seller.”
Source: Property Portal Watch