William Raveis New York City, the City’s newest residential real estate firm and the 100th office of the largest family-owned real estate company in the Northeast, today announced that it will offer StreetEasy’s NYC listings.
The consumer can now access them through a framed-out search portal on William Raveis’ website, providing visitors with unfettered access to virtually every single listing in New York City.
“When I decided to launch William Raveis in the New York market, I was surprised to find that no brokerage made all of the city’s listings easily available to consumers or, if they provided listings to the public, the consumer was required to register and share their personal information,” explains Bill Raveis, chairman and chief executive officer of William Raveis Real Estate, Mortgage & Insurance.
“This isn’t the way the consumer wants to shop. Having a fresh perspective, coming into the market as an ‘outsider,’ I knew that it was time to give them what they deserve: transparency and a one-stop shopping experience.”
It’s a move Kathy Braddock, managing director of William Raveis New York City, feels is not only logical, but also long overdue, particularly since New York City lacks a multiple listing service (MLS). “New York real estate brokerages have been entrenched in the way they do business, which historically means guarding listings and limiting information that enable consumers to make the best possible real estate decisions,” Braddock says.
“Providing an entrée into New York City to the millions of visitors worldwide who use the raveis.com website is a smart decision and of great benefit to buyers, renters, investors and even members of the brokerage community,” adds Paul Purcell, managing director at William Raveis New York City. “We’re proud to be an advocate for change.”
The news comes on the heels of the Real Estate Board of New York (REBNY) decision to introduce IDX – Internet Data Exchange – for the REBNY Listing Service (RLS).
It’s a system that allows participating agents and brokerages to display their competitors properties’ on their websites, something that’s already available in most U.S. markets.
And earlier this month, Douglas Elliman Real Estate signed a deal with Zillow – parent company of StreetEasy – to get its 9,000 listings prime space on its network.
Zillow, Inc. and Elliman said the partnership will mean the brokerage’s listings will appear as featured listings on the Yahoo!®-Zillow® Real Estate Network, the largest real estate network on the web via a direct feed from Douglas Elliman.
