I am a creature of habit. Most mornings, I eat the same breakfast: Fage yogurt, Trader Joe’s granola and fresh blueberries. I like it. I don’t have to think about it. Chances are, tomorrow morning I’ll eat it again.
That’s the beauty of a habit. As James Clear writes in Atomic Habits, “Habits reduce cognitive load and free up mental capacity, so you can allocate your attention to other tasks.”
We repeat what works, often without giving it much thought. Home search has habits, too.
When habit meets choice
There was a time when Netflix itself was the new destination. Streaming gave us another way to watch television, and Netflix became a place we went to find it.
Today there are streaming services everywhere. We didn’t have to give up our familiar favorite. Other destinations simply joined it. Now, when someone recommends a show to me, I immediately ask, “Where is it streaming?”
In May 2001, Apple opened its first retail stores, including one at Tysons Corner in Northern Virginia. Apple products were already available through other retailers. The Apple Store gave people a new way to experience the brand, another doorway where they could touch, try and explore the products for themselves.
The landscape simply expanded. Home search may be evolving in much the same way.
The 1st confetti moment
Six months ago, I wrote an Inman article called “A confetti moment: Zillow changes its tune on listing standards.” Zillow had introduced Preview, giving homes a public pre-market stage before they became active on the MLS.
It was an acknowledgment of the value of a marketing runway before a home reached the broader market. The confetti was about increased optionality for the seller. I summed it up this way: “How a home is introduced can be just as important as how widely it’s seen.”
On Sept. 17, Zillow Preview listings became available on Realtor.com. Buyers could now discover those pre-market homes in another place.
Five days later, Compass made its own move.
A confetti moment for homebuyers
On Sept. 22, Compass unveiled the largest redesign of Compass.com in a decade and introduced See It First.
And that made me look at optionality from the other side of the transaction. If sellers can have more choice in how and when a home is introduced, shouldn’t buyers have a similar choice in where and when they discover a home?
For the first time, Compass.com brings together homes represented across all Compass International Holdings brands in one search destination. Any buyer or buyer’s agent can explore those homes, regardless of brokerage affiliation.
Compass.com is now a broader consumer home search destination. And the expansion isn’t only about where buyers can discover a home, but when.
Compass makes the proposition clear on its See It First page: “Find more homes before they’re available on other websites.” For buyers, that changes the search experience. A home they might once have expected to find in one familiar place may now first appear somewhere else.
Through the Compass International Holdings partnership with Redfin, Coming Soon Listings can also be discovered through Redfin Early Access.
A larger pattern emerges. Zillow Preview has expanded to Realtor.com. Compass.com now brings together listings across its multiple brands. And some earlier-stage listings can also be discovered on Redfin.
More destinations. More ways to discover what may be available. Another confetti moment. This time, the optionality belongs to the buyer.
Our fingers never stopped walking
Long before we Googled, scrolled or swiped, there was the Yellow Pages.
You opened a thick directory, ran your finger down columns of tiny print, looking for restaurants, plumbers, florists or real estate agents. There was even a slogan for it: “Let your fingers do the walking.”
It has been around since the 1960s, but to me, the phrase is timeless. Our fingers never stopped walking. Only the places they walk have changed.
Technology has evolved, but the instinct behind the search hasn’t. We still look. We still explore. And finding a new place to search doesn’t mean abandoning the places we already know.
Six months ago, I was thinking about how and when a home is introduced. Now I’m thinking about where and when a home is discovered.
The home search landscape is expanding. A familiar search routine may no longer be enough.
Different platforms can offer different windows into what may be available and when. Buyers can lean on the expertise of their real estate professional to navigate multiple platforms for a cohesive home search.
The goal is not simply to see more homes, but to uncover the ones that matter and determine the best strategy for pursuing them.
And tomorrow morning, chances are I’ll have my Fage yogurt, granola and blueberries. But weekends? Maybe avocado toast. There’s room for both. And perhaps, along the way, I’ll discover a new favorite.
The views and opinions expressed here are those of the contributor and separate from the Inman newsroom.
