Showing Time vs SentriLock – Does it Even Matter?

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Filed under: Market Comentary

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This topic has nothing to do about the mortgage business, but is very related to the real estate industry – and I hope to start a conversation on this topic. Thanks to Bob Fox and National Real Estate Post for bringing this to my attention.

Managing Showing Appointments Digitally

When Realtors get a new listing, they put it out there with times available to show the property. Because of the current demand, the schedule quickly fills with 30 – 50 showings. Most agents are using Showing Time as a scheduling program, allowing the agent to choose the available times and schedule everything for each appointment. This tool saves time and admin work so you don’t have to spend your day on the logistics to schedule showings.

Showing Time has always been the go-to tool. But, guess what: earlier this year, Zillow purchased Showing Time. What’s the big deal? As we know from all the giant companies out there in all industries (Facebook, Google, Apple) – they own the markets because they own the data.

Now Zillow gains access to all the buyer’s information for all these listings. Zillow has recently gone public and they are changing their business approach to become a broker. There are questionable and unethical questions about how they are being a player in the brokerage market.

SentriLock: Alternative to Showing Time

There is another option: SentriLock is a great alternative to Showing Time. This tool is owned by the National Association of Realtors. It doesn’t appear that the local board has SentriLock offered through myMLS, which encourages people to continue using Showing Time.

My message is a call to action to all the Realtors out there: if you are using Showing Time, it’s a competitor’s software. Zillow is in competition with all Realtors. Since there is an alternative, maybe you should explore the options. If myMLS isn’t offering it through their services, maybe we need to lean on them to offer options.

Be smart with your business information – it’s probably not a good idea to share the data with your competitor. I’d love to hear feedback on this! I called a few agents that I know and haven’t found anyone using SentriLock. What’s your experience?

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