New York City-based agents brokered by Compass International Holdings brands and franchises that wish to join StreetEasy’s Experts lead generation program will have to get in line.
This comes after StreetEasy announced changes to its Experts program last month.
Experts is a lead generation tool for New York City-based agents that operates like parent company Zillow’s Preferred program. When a consumer presses the request a tour button on a listing on StreetEasy they are connected with a StreetEasy Expert agent.
These changes include a “participation cap.” Under the cap, if one agent from one company represents 20% or more of Experts, StreetEasy will pause new additions from that company until the firm is back below the 20% threshold.
A StreetEasy spokesperson confirmed to HousingWire that Compass International Holdings is currently the only company over the threshold but that the cap applies to all firms equally. Additionally, the spokesperson said that no existing Experts will lose their spot in the program and that these measures are about managing the program moving forward.
The spokesperson also confirmed that a waitlist of Compass International Holdings agents already exists and that when the firm drops below the 20% threshold, StreetEasy will begin processing through the waitlist.
“StreetEasy’s Experts program connects buyers and sellers with great agents, and keeping that program fair and accessible is how we make sure it stays valuable for everyone,” a StreetEasy spokesperson told HousingWire. “This participation cap ensures that agents at companies of every size, from small independent shops to the city’s largest firms, have a meaningful opportunity to grow their business through Experts.”
In addition to the participation cap, StreetEasy also changed the success fees it charges Experts who close leads from StreetEasy. For properties priced $249,000 and below, StreetEasy will charge a 15% fee instead of a 25% fee and for properties sold for between $250,000 and $399,999, it will charge a 20% fee instead of a 25% fee.
“The Success Fee reduction on lower-priced transactions reflects our commitment to strong agent coverage across all price points,” the spokesperson said. “Taken together, these changes are about making Experts work better for the whole market.”
Compass International Holdings did not return HousingWire’s request for comment on this.
These changes from StreetEasy come after Compass pulled its listings from StreetEasy in early August.
At the time, a Compass spokesperson told HousingWire this was a “common marketing strategy among top agents,” as it “gives sellers exposure to virtually all” consumers while “temporarily taking the listing off of the World Wide Web in August, the slowest month in New York City.”
“This marketing strategy isn’t focused on pulling listings off any particular portal or website — these listings are still visible to all agents of all brokerages in the Real Estate Board of New York’s Residential Listing Service and their clients,” the spokesperson added. “Portals are increasingly seeking to control how sellers market their homes in ways that protect their business model, whether or not it is in the best interest of the consumer.”