We’ve been talking about Realtor ratings for some time now and a few companies have taken a swing at the ball known as ratings. Zillow ended the year announcing their addition of ratings which saw a quick burst of attention before things quieted down.
Why did it quiet down? Likely because of the standard, expected star ratings system, it is being used by agents as a part of gaming the Zillow system, and we predict the other major search players will follow suit as consumers are demanding it.
In steps Mountain of Agents, a Realtor rating site that solicits ratings based on less subjective set of criteria including marketing expertise, geographical mastery, trust and compassion, active interest, helpfulness, and referrability (my spelling, not theirs). Most compelling to me personally is trust and compassion- an element that is difficult to critique but highly important in a down economy like we are in now.
The user interface looks great for Mountain of Agents and while other ratings sites are tedious and often confusing, we find this site to be extremely clear and well thought out with the Realtor in mind. Realtors can register for free and consumers can search for agents by zip code. Most ratings sites tend to overcomplicate the process, so the simplicity is refreshing.
Here’s a real live profile (click to enlarge):
Mountain of Agents Founder, Michael Becker said, “With the gaggle of sites out there trying to cram the entire real estate universe into a cluttered, messy single entity, our site offers a breath of fresh air to consumers and agents by focusing on usability, relevancy and reliability.”
The downside is that it is a noisy space to enter, so we’ll be interested to see how Mountain of Agents plans on growing. We also thought it would be an interesting option to list the agent’s license number on their profile with a link to the state license holder to further indicate a level of legitimacy given the remaining distrust of agents. I don’t care much for the copy (“compliment me”), it feels a little too self serving, but I guess it is a major solicitation, so why not?
How do you think Mountain of Agents can be or remain competitive in this environment?
AG is not affiliated with Mountain of Agents.
