Are you thinking about buying a home?
I was quite busy as many first home buyers rushed to take advantage of the $8000 tax credit. Another tax credit will be on its way, so are you ready to look for a home? How will you search for it? From research done on the habits of home buyers, I can guess that you will start your search on the internet (90% of home buyers begin their search on the net).
You will check out several homes online, try to find a Realtor, look for information about a possible mortgage, and maybe find a home inspector. With so many searchers, it may come as no surprise that you can find homes from any number of different websites.
Realtors are being encouraged to start a blog, to obtain accounts on Twitter and Facebook, and to find any other social media outlet to connect with the consumers. Now that Google and others are listing the latest tweets, it might be encouraging to have homes listed in this medium. In fact, you can find blogs and Twitter accounts dedicated to the selling of one home.
I think a blog featuring different posts about what a home has to offer is not so bad; however, I would not follow a home, and I am not sure that I would ever consider asking in a tweet “are they any homes for sale in the area that I want?” As for Facebook, I might take a suggestion from a friend, but Realtors will have to reach out to potential clients to encourage them to see these updates. I think Facebook is better for keeping up with family and friends than searching for the perfect home. Moreover, Twitter often comes across more as marketers marketing to other marketers than being able to find/search for a host of topics involved in real estate.
The development that will be the game changer on the web is Google’s moves into this field. Google Maps will show you where to find homes, and their mortgage/lender application which has been tested in the UK is coming to us in the USA. What they do not offer on one of their apps, you can find through search. More power to them, but is this a rich search experience that you need to find your home? Well, several of you may find it to your liking. It does mean that other sites do have to meet the challenge.
The site that progressively seems to be improving is Zillow. Their “zestimates” were at first derided in the real estate community for being wildly inaccurate. If you do not know, a zestimate is their version of an estimate to a home’s value. With Zillow and Epraisal, we can see that these internet estimate sites are becoming more accepted and accurate.
Realtytrac is another site that has become an industry leader when discussing foreclosures, yet we can find good lists of foreclosures on Homefinder or Roost. With so many real estate dedicated search sites available, we can find richer sources for home buying adventures. These alternative search sites are the ones looking to find new ways to innovate search.
Of course, real estate social blogging sites, like Active Rain, may be a real future for real estate on the web. Consumers can interact with professionals on their blogs. Professionals can network with others through the site. Moreover, it is adding features that are making a real estate search fun and easy for the consumer and the professional.
There are moments when I feel that Twitter and Facebook are not too social. I do not have that feeling on Active Rain. I have seen where my own local Realtor Association is adopting aspects of various sites like Zillow and Active Rain. If more associations go this route, we may see them become the search destination for homes.
When searching you should window shop different locations on the web, I think, particularly to gain more from your search.
Frank Schulte-Ladbeck
http://YourHoustonHomeInspector.com
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November 4th, 2009 at 11:57 am
Thanks for the AR plug and comment. It’s true, ActiveRain already has had one month this year where over 100,000 home searches were done on our site using the “HomeSearch” tool at the top of every AR page. Members can setup their own hit router campaigns and links to land on their specified IDX landing pages.
We have also just partnered with Diverse Solutions to provide our members without IDX, a powerful solution to helping their clients, and building their leads and customer base.
November 4th, 2009 at 4:15 pm
That is what sets your social blogging network apart. I noticed that HAR.com now has a blogging feature that on the surface appears similar to AR. I see that other Realtor associations are trying to find ways to enter this field as well. Home search is about more than a property listing; it involves other factors like schools and neighborhoods too. AR provides that through its member posts.
November 5th, 2009 at 11:52 am
Thanks for the mention Frank. While we do have foreclosures on roost.com, we also have FSBOs and more importantly MLS data. This is what we think really sets us apart from Google and others. You are looking at everything that is on the market, not just a sampling. Couple that great data with an easy to use interface and we think we’ve come up with a winning combination.
November 5th, 2009 at 3:33 pm
Thank you for commenting, Derek. I do believe that the interface is easy to sue, which is a good selling point. I was aware of the other homes that you have on your site. I guess that I was trying to make the point that Realtytrac does not corner that market. Good Luck with your endeavours!