The winners in online real estate will be those that partner with brokers and agents to be part of their businesses, said Jamie Glenn, Trulia VP of product development, during a real estate panel at DDL. Selling clicks and leads won’t be enough.

Diversified information sources and tools for home buyers and sellers will also be needed as more entrants appear and compete on features and utility. The category is also cyclical, added Marty Frame, CIO of Fidelity National Real Estate Solutions, and both of these reasons are driving down page views across the space.

On the bright side, the overall category is growing, said Mike Fiorvante, VP, Paid Search Division, Homes.com, who points to the generational shift that will see Internet-savvy gen-Xers and millennials slowly take over sell side. Meanwhile, the online shift that’s already under way will continue to drive growth, said Frame.

“Before the Internet, agents didn’t buy advertising at all: They benefited from that bought for them by brokers,” he says. “Those that market to agents will be the ones to take share.”

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