HomeStory’s McClelland speaks on changing real estate landscape

On this week’s episode of the RealTrending podcast, host Tracey Velt sits down with Craig McClelland — chief strategy officer at HomeStory and president of LOCAL Realty — for a forward-looking conversation about the shifting landscape of real estate.

McClelland emphasizes the growing necessity of consumer-first strategies. He also highlights how major players like Zillow and Rocket Mortgage are pushing the industry toward new tech-driven models that challenge traditional brokerage structures.

Their discussion explores how data and technology are reshaping the real estate experience, often extending the transaction timeline but offering deeper insights along the way.

McClelland also shares thoughts on how smaller brokerages can stay competitive, particularly by embracing niche or boutique models that offer more personalized service.

This conversation excerpt has been edited for length and clarity.

Velt: What do you think the average agent needs to be ready to take advantage of?

McClelland: You know, one thing I’d be real careful about is, I wouldn’t compare Rocket and Zillow right now, because Zillow’s path to where they’re at was different. They came up through a portal and they came up through the industry, and they just recently started looking and smelling and tasting like what Rocket’s creating — and that was just, like, six to 12 months ago.

He explained that although investors are starting to compare the two companies, their origins and approaches remain fundamentally different.

McClelland: Rocket came through that originations channel — high volume, top of funnel — of originating through acquiring customers top of funnel with interest in mortgage and then bringing them down through that origination path.

They both got to where they’re at from different places. So you have to remember Rocket has spent years perfecting this originations path and Zillow has spent years perfecting this portal path. So it’s not one to one.