Zillow is fast working on becoming the DE facto portal for the online industry. Their latest stab at online dominance is partnering with the 282 newspapers to provide the online listing information and other housing information online. This is a wise move for Zillow as it will further brand the portal in the minds of buyers and sellers as the place to start the real estate sales process online.
What these newspapers give up is their dominant position in the online world for real estate in their local markets. With an estimated 80 percent of home searches started online, very few people are looking in the newspapers for real estate information these days. The pressure to use newspaper classified advertising comes mainly from sellers wanting it as part of the marketing package, not the agents as it is lost dollars due to the utter ineffectiveness of newspaper marketing in selling a home.
So even as Zillow will be a player in a declining market now, they will be sucking the last vestiges of life out of the market for their partner newspapers. One of the benefits for the newspapers is that when people do a Google search for real estate in their local market, they do fairly well. Now they have essentially co-opted their search engine optimization to Zillow and taken themselves out of the online market even further.
Instead of holding the top position for real estate searches online in their local markets and generating traffic and advertising revenue the newspapers will now see Zillow as the top position on Google diverting traffic from their sites. With Zillow developing their brand as they have and the local newspaper giving up their dominant position, all they will see is declining online traffic to match their declining readership in the real estate niche.
Just another reason for real estate agents to tell their clients that they will not pay the high advertising fees to be in a newspaper and just go to Zillow directly. Which I am sure in Zillow’s long term plan.
Is it time for the evil cackle to be heard coming out of Seattle?
Eleven newspapers companies are involved in this partnership, which is an extension of the Yahoo alliance. The companies are the following: Hearst Newspapers, Lee Enterprises, Media General, MediaNews Group, Morris Communications, Paddock Publications, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, E.W. Scripps, Times-Shamrock Communications, Journal Register Co., and the Day Publishing Co.
“We are honored that this consortium of newspaper companies has chosen Zillow as the partner to fast-track their presence in the digital real estate world,” Lloyd Frink, president of Zillow, said in a statement. “Research shows that 80% of home buyers use the Internet in the home-buying process.” via Editor and Publisher
15 Kasım 2007 Perşembe
11 Newspaper Companies Partner with Real Estate Giant Zillow.com
Homes.com and Harmon Homes Magazine Merge To Capitalize On Consumers Move to Internet
We have long followed the transition from real estate marketing from print to online and the leader of the online real estate reporting, Inman News, has the scoop on Dominion Enterprises consolidation. Harmon Homes is the ubiquitous home sales magazine found in every supermarket and Chinese restaurant, or at that is where I see them in Atlanta. Homes.com is Dominion’s online brand. The two will merge and combine forces under the Homes.com brand which will help drive traffic to the website for the listings in the book.
This is a smart move, the cost of production for the web properties is next to nothing and real estate agents are moving away from print advertising to the web where the customers are. This way they can move Harmon into the web side and reduce the risk as the market for print advertising subsides all the time allowing the sales force in place to sell Homes.com.
It is great to see a company “get it”.
As a result of the merger, every real estate advertisement placed in any one of the more than 130 now-rebranded Homes.com free print publications also will be displayed on the Homes.com Web site as a basic listing, according to a press statement.
“Integrating Harmon Homes into Homes.com creates a national portal with a neighborhood presence,” Jamie Clymer, vice president and general manager of Homes.com, said in a statement. “We have created an easier path for home buyers to use both print and online resources to find the information they need. This uniquely robust user experience provides consumers in-depth property information and links buyers directly to brokers and agents.” via Inman Real Estate News
Want To Sell A Property? Include a Floor Plan
Living in suburbia and being a housing junkie, I am always amazed at how rarely homes for resale do not include a floorplan in their marketing efforts. Looking at new construction, these builders almost always have a floorplan available for their clients. Think they are not in the business of selling homes?
But a typical real estate agent will never get near a floor plan in their marketing information. I am sure that this has to do with liability and disclosure, but if I am a buyer, I want to see the whole package. I want to know what I am buying, not a well laid out picture that is enticing but does not tell me about the space I will be in for the next 10 years.
So why are floor plans not included? Are you going to think the client will not notice a lack of closet space when they look at a home? Show them the home upfront and you will be amazed at how many more people will be interested instead of guessing what the property may be, they know what it is.
The builders sure have, and also those who sell apartments in New York.
A floor plan shows the entire unit, not just part of it. In other words, floor plans reveal what photographs often do not: the proportions of rooms, the number of rooms and the traffic flows among them. A buyer can instantly see, for instance, if the kitchen is conveniently situated near the dining room, whether bedrooms open directly onto the living room or whether a trip to the bathroom will involve a walk through a bedroom.
“When you look at a floor plan, it is the apartment standing there naked,” said Gerald Makowski, director of marketing at Halstead Property.
Floor plans are starting to move into three dimensions, a real help for those who have trouble visualizing physical space. Some developers show elevation plans, where you can pick a floor from the side view of a building and then highlight a particular unit. More customization is likely as technology improves.
Outside New York, however, floor plans are rarely used as marketing tools by brokers who are reselling houses, although they are more likely to be used by builders of housing developments, who include floor plans as one of the many tools on their Web sites.
Terabitz Creates Digital Dashboard For Real Estate Transactions
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Entries Tagged 'Real Estate Technology' ↓
Great Primer for Real Estate Professional on Data Back Ups
August 7th, 2007 — Real Estate Technology
Face it, we all could improve our data backup procedures. Fortunately, Brian Davis at Appraisal Scoop has done an amazing post on data backups for appraisers. The focus may be on appraisers and their needs, but the primer could be used for anyone in the real estate business.
Brian goes through the different online backup solutions and provides a great dissection of the pro’s and con’s of the software alternatives. While it is not a topic that gets you all excited, it may be the motivator that will save you a huge heartache in the future.
Brian’s article on Backing Up Data for Appraisers.
Tags: back+up+data
3 Comments
Apartments.com and Yahoo Real Estate Join Forces
July 31st, 2007 — Real Estate Internet, Real Estate Technology
Apartments.com and Yahoo Real Estate signed an agreement to have Apartments.com as their featured apartment listing provider for the online service. The agreement brings over 3 million apartments into Yahoo Real Estate’s portfolio.
One thing I do like about Apartments.com approach is they do not have registration process to view the apartments. Many of the players in the apartment space still try to get demographic and contact information from you to view their inventory. Most renters using these services are fairly savvy so I am sure that the information given is not of the best quality. Those 103 year old renters that are looking for college apartments with a lively party pool are way to common.
“We are excited about the opportunity to bring together two leading destinations in online real estate, and offer a valuable service to both renters and property managers looking to fill vacancies,” said Kevin Doyle, senior vice president and general manager of Apartments.com. “By enabling Yahoo! Real Estate’s users to access our detailed and visual listings data, Apartments.com can build on our goal to reach renters across the country. In doing so, we will provide even more highly qualified leads to our advertisers, thus reducing the cost for an apartment community to fill a vacancy.” via the Brooklyn Daily Eagle
Tags: Apartment.com, Yahoo+Real+Estate, Online+Real+Estate
No Comments
Dubai Real Estate Institute To Develop Programs With USC
July 31st, 2007 — Real Estate Technology
One thing about real estate in Dubai is they do not do things halfway. When they build their buildings the results are world class. Now to increase the level of real estate education, the Dubai Real Estate Institute has joined forces with the noted School of Planning and Development at the University of Southern California.
USC’s school is considered one of the top institutes in the country for real estate and development education and this should help Dubai build their leaders of tomorrow and create and deeper pool of talent in the developing country.
Dubai Real Estate Institute, the region’s first academic institute for real estate studies, yesterday signed a memorandum of understanding with the School of Planning and Development at the University of Southern California in the US. They will work jointly to offer academic as well as executive education programmes and professional training in real estate to address pressing issues in the industry and offer cutting edge ideas and approaches. In addition, the cooperation will extend to cover important research initiatives in the region. via Gulfnews
Tags: Dubai, USC, Development
No Comments
Burj Dubai Becomes World’s Tallest Building
July 21st, 2007 — Real Estate Technology
Burj Dubai has officially become the world’s tallest building after passing the Taipei 101 at 1,680 feet. What once was a small trading town, Dubai is now the center of the universe for new and exotic construction.
Burj Dubai, a tower rising in the booming Gulf emirate, has become the tallest building in the world at 512.1 metres (1,680 feet), surpassing Taiwan’s Taipei 101 which is 508 metres (1,667 feet) tall, developers Emaar said Saturday.
Burj Dubai, or Dubai Tower, now has 141 storeys, more than any other building in the world, Emaar Properties said in a statement.
The skyscraper, scheduled for completion in 2008, is one of a string of grandiose projects taking shape in Dubai, which is part of the United Arab Emirates. via Yahoo! News
Tags: worlds+tallest+building, birj+dubai, burj+dubai, burj+dubia
1 Comment
Terabitz Creates Digital Dashboard For Real Estate Transactions
July 17th, 2007 — Real Estate Technology
Terabitz, new player in the online real estate world, is taking a new tact with it’s 10 million dollar financing package. The company has created a digital dashboard application to help manage all of the facets included in moving to a new home or apartment. Instead of being a one way data source, Terabitz is looking to provide a drag and drop environment for managing all of the information that you will need when you move.
It is an interesting concept and I think it will have legs for the younger set of internet mavens, but for a site that has the potential to be plug and play and easy to use, it still inundates with data. I think if they gave the user a simple wizard to walk through to get started the application would have a better success rate where people could then manipulate the data to their specifications while having a baseline.
In a press release, Terabitz says that its service will do for online real estate what TiVo did for television, eBay did for auctions and iTunes did for music. It also takes a swipe at Zillow, the Seattle online home valuation service that has raised $57 million to date.
“People need an easy way to manage the dozens of sources of information that comprise a move. Companies such as Zillow have attempted to solve this problem, but offer only single, narrow solutions,” says Chief Executive Ashfaq Munshi, the former chief executive of Level5 Networks and father of Kamran Munshi.
The company says its site, which can be customized by each user, will include property listings as well as neighborhood information related to hospitals, libraries, theaters, restaurants and crime statistics. Users can drag information — say fast food restaurants, for sale listings or cafes — into an online workspace.
That information can then be loaded onto a Google Map, so a user could see how close a home is to a McDonald’s (shown as a hamburger icon), an elementary school (shown as a yellow sign), a cafe (shown as a coffee cup) or other neighborhood businesses. Along with homes from the MLS, the site also integrates property listings from CraigsList and Google. It also offers the tax assessment for each property and notes comparable homes that have sold nearby. via John Cook’s
Terabitz Creates Digital Dashboard For Real Estate Transactions
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Entries Tagged 'Real Estate Technology' ↓
Great Primer for Real Estate Professional on Data Back Ups
August 7th, 2007 — Real Estate Technology
Face it, we all could improve our data backup procedures. Fortunately, Brian Davis at Appraisal Scoop has done an amazing post on data backups for appraisers. The focus may be on appraisers and their needs, but the primer could be used for anyone in the real estate business.
Brian goes through the different online backup solutions and provides a great dissection of the pro’s and con’s of the software alternatives. While it is not a topic that gets you all excited, it may be the motivator that will save you a huge heartache in the future.
Brian’s article on Backing Up Data for Appraisers.
Tags: back+up+data
3 Comments
Apartments.com and Yahoo Real Estate Join Forces
July 31st, 2007 — Real Estate Internet, Real Estate Technology
Apartments.com and Yahoo Real Estate signed an agreement to have Apartments.com as their featured apartment listing provider for the online service. The agreement brings over 3 million apartments into Yahoo Real Estate’s portfolio.
One thing I do like about Apartments.com approach is they do not have registration process to view the apartments. Many of the players in the apartment space still try to get demographic and contact information from you to view their inventory. Most renters using these services are fairly savvy so I am sure that the information given is not of the best quality. Those 103 year old renters that are looking for college apartments with a lively party pool are way to common.
“We are excited about the opportunity to bring together two leading destinations in online real estate, and offer a valuable service to both renters and property managers looking to fill vacancies,” said Kevin Doyle, senior vice president and general manager of Apartments.com. “By enabling Yahoo! Real Estate’s users to access our detailed and visual listings data, Apartments.com can build on our goal to reach renters across the country. In doing so, we will provide even more highly qualified leads to our advertisers, thus reducing the cost for an apartment community to fill a vacancy.” via the Brooklyn Daily Eagle
Tags: Apartment.com, Yahoo+Real+Estate, Online+Real+Estate
No Comments
Dubai Real Estate Institute To Develop Programs With USC
July 31st, 2007 — Real Estate Technology
One thing about real estate in Dubai is they do not do things halfway. When they build their buildings the results are world class. Now to increase the level of real estate education, the Dubai Real Estate Institute has joined forces with the noted School of Planning and Development at the University of Southern California.
USC’s school is considered one of the top institutes in the country for real estate and development education and this should help Dubai build their leaders of tomorrow and create and deeper pool of talent in the developing country.
Dubai Real Estate Institute, the region’s first academic institute for real estate studies, yesterday signed a memorandum of understanding with the School of Planning and Development at the University of Southern California in the US. They will work jointly to offer academic as well as executive education programmes and professional training in real estate to address pressing issues in the industry and offer cutting edge ideas and approaches. In addition, the cooperation will extend to cover important research initiatives in the region. via Gulfnews
Tags: Dubai, USC, Development
No Comments
Burj Dubai Becomes World’s Tallest Building
July 21st, 2007 — Real Estate Technology
Burj Dubai has officially become the world’s tallest building after passing the Taipei 101 at 1,680 feet. What once was a small trading town, Dubai is now the center of the universe for new and exotic construction.
Burj Dubai, a tower rising in the booming Gulf emirate, has become the tallest building in the world at 512.1 metres (1,680 feet), surpassing Taiwan’s Taipei 101 which is 508 metres (1,667 feet) tall, developers Emaar said Saturday.
Burj Dubai, or Dubai Tower, now has 141 storeys, more than any other building in the world, Emaar Properties said in a statement.
The skyscraper, scheduled for completion in 2008, is one of a string of grandiose projects taking shape in Dubai, which is part of the United Arab Emirates. via Yahoo! News
Tags: worlds+tallest+building, birj+dubai, burj+dubai, burj+dubia
1 Comment
Terabitz Creates Digital Dashboard For Real Estate Transactions
July 17th, 2007 — Real Estate Technology
Terabitz, new player in the online real estate world, is taking a new tact with it’s 10 million dollar financing package. The company has created a digital dashboard application to help manage all of the facets included in moving to a new home or apartment. Instead of being a one way data source, Terabitz is looking to provide a drag and drop environment for managing all of the information that you will need when you move.
It is an interesting concept and I think it will have legs for the younger set of internet mavens, but for a site that has the potential to be plug and play and easy to use, it still inundates with data. I think if they gave the user a simple wizard to walk through to get started the application would have a better success rate where people could then manipulate the data to their specifications while having a baseline.
In a press release, Terabitz says that its service will do for online real estate what TiVo did for television, eBay did for auctions and iTunes did for music. It also takes a swipe at Zillow, the Seattle online home valuation service that has raised $57 million to date.
“People need an easy way to manage the dozens of sources of information that comprise a move. Companies such as Zillow have attempted to solve this problem, but offer only single, narrow solutions,” says Chief Executive Ashfaq Munshi, the former chief executive of Level5 Networks and father of Kamran Munshi.
The company says its site, which can be customized by each user, will include property listings as well as neighborhood information related to hospitals, libraries, theaters, restaurants and crime statistics. Users can drag information — say fast food restaurants, for sale listings or cafes — into an online workspace.
That information can then be loaded onto a Google Map, so a user could see how close a home is to a McDonald’s (shown as a hamburger icon), an elementary school (shown as a yellow sign), a cafe (shown as a coffee cup) or other neighborhood businesses. Along with homes from the MLS, the site also integrates property listings from CraigsList and Google. It also offers the tax assessment for each property and notes comparable homes that have sold nearby. via John Cook’s
Dubai Real Estate Institute To Develop Programs With USC
One thing about real estate in Dubai is they do not do things halfway. When they build their buildings the results are world class. Now to increase the level of real estate education, the Dubai Real Estate Institute has joined forces with the noted School of Planning and Development at the University of Southern California.
USC’s school is considered one of the top institutes in the country for real estate and development education and this should help Dubai build their leaders of tomorrow and create and deeper pool of talent in the developing country.
Dubai Real Estate Institute, the region’s first academic institute for real estate studies, yesterday signed a memorandum of understanding with the School of Planning and Development at the University of Southern California in the US. They will work jointly to offer academic as well as executive education programmes and professional training in real estate to address pressing issues in the industry and offer cutting edge ideas and approaches. In addition, the cooperation will extend to cover important research initiatives in the region. via Gulfnews
Apartments.com and Yahoo Real Estate Join Forces
Apartments.com and Yahoo Real Estate signed an agreement to have Apartments.com as their featured apartment listing provider for the online service. The agreement brings over 3 million apartments into Yahoo Real Estate’s portfolio.
One thing I do like about Apartments.com approach is they do not have registration process to view the apartments. Many of the players in the apartment space still try to get demographic and contact information from you to view their inventory. Most renters using these services are fairly savvy so I am sure that the information given is not of the best quality. Those 103 year old renters that are looking for college apartments with a lively party pool are way to common.
