Is the Zillow Partnership with Newspapers Solving a Problem Brokers Can’t Solve Themselves?

I would argue this is an opportunity for a real estate brand with any significant market share — build a network of blog-backed agent+office+regional sites that mix great real estate search with local content.

The economy of scale in publishing vanishes online and as such, I see no strategic need for brokers to participate in recreating this legacy dependancy.

From Joel @ futureofrealestatemarketing.com — Zillow goes to the Presses

I suggested that they look beyond banners and classifieds and build out a whole platform to support real estate agents and brokers taking their marketing messages to the web; a listing syndication engine, a blogging solution, an advertising platform, a video hosting tool.