What are the internet realtors up to?

Well after I published my last posting (I'd been editing it / thinking about it for a week or so) I finally had a bit of time to get throught some of the realtor rags that had been piling on my desk. I try to give them a skim over when I can since each issue usually has one small bit of interesting info -- among all of the mindless realtor ads and fluf about this or that rising starr. Anyway they had an expose with the creators of Zillow, which I thought might be interesting, me being a ex techie. And I love Zillow, its a good product at the right price and very easy to use.

Getting into the meat of the article, they talked about where these guys came from; They are both ex Microsofties and were the ones that started expedia. You know Expedia, the online travel site that put a nail in the coffin of the Travel Agency market? They discussed how Zillow had all this funding and were building a great team of engineers and real estate professionals etc. And they discussed one other thing that was the gem I was looking for in this issue. The guys said several times that they would not discuss the plan for Zillow going forward, but they emphatically denied that they were going after the real estate agent piece of the pie. hmmm. well then, what are they going to do. The dull masses haven't even given it a thought, Zillow is great what more could we want. But these guys are seasoned entrapenures by definition they think big, really big and have the funding and staff to do it. So, what do they want? What are their plans?

My cinical mind says that they are after the tools and information market. They realize that Real estate requires more due dillegence than buying stocks or organizing a vacation. A personal relationship is required for most peoples liking becuase of the following reasons:
1) neighborhoods are very local and it takes a person who lives and works there to provide an understanding of it.
2) real estate buyers demand a level of due dillegence that is not demanded by travelers or stock buyers. that is physical inspections of the property.
3) They are complicated transactions which require constant communication between multiple parties over the course of an extended period of time.
Anyone who has examined the real estate market recognizes these and many more issues. They recognize that the real estate agents (at least the good ones) are doing a good job and add significant and worthwhile value to the process. Its the REALTORS associations and the MLS's that are ripe for picking. The Realtors associations have crappy tools and are loosing control of their prized monopoly on information. I don't want to say that real estate agents will not be affected by all of this, we will, but the association better make way for some competitors and soon because zillow is moving in.