Archive for the 'Technology' Category
Residential Real Estate Continues Move To Hi-Tech
June 16th, 2010 categories: Chicago Info/News, For Buyers, For Sellers, Technology
There was a time when critics claimed that REALTORS® were afraid of technology. I don’t know anyone making this claim now.
REALTORS®, in fact, have embraced technology as much as have any sales professionals. Search the Web and you’ll find pages of blogs written by REALTORS®. Search the MLS online and you’ll find a growing number of condominium and single-family home listings that have virtual tours attached to them.
And if you ever see a REALTOR® hustling to a showing, you’ll undoubtedly notice a smart phone clutched in this professional’s hand.
REALTORS® are married to technology. Of course, this was inevitable; home buyers and sellers are the same way.
The Chicago Tribune recently ran a feature story on the changing ways in which consumers buy and sell houses.
The most interesting fact in the Tribune story is this: 90 percent of consumers are going online to help find their homes, according to the National Association of REALTORS®.
For sellers, this is an important stat. They absolutely have to list their homes prominently online if they want to compete for buyers in today’s market. And it’s not just about listing a home on the Multiple Listing Service any more. Sellers need to showcase their homes with virtual tours. They need the written copy describing their homes to contain the right keywords to attract potential buyers. And they need lots of photos to accompany their online listings.
It makes sense, then, for sellers to work with tech-savvy REALTORS® who boast busy Web sites and who write well-trafficked blogs. These are the REALTORS® in today’s online marketplace who will attract the most potential buyers for sellers’ homes.
I still remember the days when online marketing was in its infancy. At that time, no one was quite sure how to best spotlight residential real estate on the Web. Today, it’s amazing how far we’ve all come. Just count how many “FOR SALE” signs boast a separate Web site address that’s unique to that particular property being sold.
It’s a new world today. And in a slow market like this one, it’s crucial for sellers to take full advantage of all the marketing opportunities that the Internet provides them.
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Study Blasts Zillow. Hallelujah!
March 16th, 2010 categories: For Homeowners, For Sellers, Real Estate News, Technology
When the Web site Zillow debuted in 2006, it became an instant hit with the public. Homeowners, and buyers, loved visiting the site to see what residences around the Chicago area were worth.
It never seemed to bother people that the Zillow estimates, known on the site as Zestimates, were rarely accurate. The Zillow people claim that they base their home value estimates on public records and local real estate sales. But I always found their estimates of properties in Chicago neighborhoods such as Lincoln Park, Lakeview and Lincoln Square to be wildly inaccurate. And I haven’t been shy about expressing this view to my clients.
Still, people flock to the site. And they gossip about it whenever Zillow comes out with one of its lists claiming that home values in Chicago have either risen or fallen.
I now have some more ammunition to support my contention that Zillow’s home value estimates are next to useless. A University of Texas study conducted by Daniel Hollas, Ronald Rutherford and Thomas Thomson concludes that Zillow’s Zestimates are not even better than homeowners’ own estimates.
The University of Texas study focused on 2,045 homes in Arlington, Texas, that sold in the second half of 2006. According to the results, Zillow overestimated the value of 40 percent of the homes by more than 10 percent. Only 0.88 percent of homes had their values underestimated by more than 10 percent.
What does this mean? Only that Zillow tends to overestimate the value of homes by a rather large sum. It’s what I, and many other real estate professionals, have long said about the site.
Zillow has disputed the study, of course. The company earns its living by providing its Zestimates. But I think I’ll side with the university professors – they tend to be smart people, after all – on this one.
Zillow might be fun to visit. Go ahead and type in the address of your Lakeview condo or two-flat in Ravenswood. But remember this: The best way to find out the true value of your Chicago residence is to work with a REALTOR® who knows your neighborhood. The true value of your home isn’t what Zillow guesses it to be, it’s what buyers are willing to pay for it.
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Home-Value Websites: Be Afraid…Be Very Afraid…
July 3rd, 2008 categories: For Homeowners, For Sellers, Technology
I know how tempting it is: You can log onto Web sites such as www.Zillow.com or www.Cyberhomes.com, punch in your home’s address and instantly get an estimated value of how much your residence is worth.
Problem is, these home-valuation sites, as popular as they may be, might not be entirely accurate.
A report released last week by the Associated Press says that sites such as Zillow.com often come up with value estimates that are divorced from realty. The problem is that these sites rely on computer-generated models to estimate the value of homes. That’s usually good. But in many instances, the computer models don’t have enough information to make the right valuation.
For instance, the models don’t account for the condition of homes. They don’t account for any improvements their owners might have made. Maybe your home has exquisite landscaping or a newly finished basement. Doesn’t matter. The home-valuation sites won’t factor those improvements into their calculations. This means that the home-value price you receive when you type in your address might be wildly flawed.
The best way to accurately determine the value of your house is to hire a skilled real estate agent who knows the ins and outs of your market. Agents can factor in the intangibles: Maybe your house sits on a desirable corner lot. Maybe its style is one of the most sought-after in your neighborhood. Maybe those El tracks down the block will actually lower the price of your condo.
See? There are an endless number of variables for homeowners to consider, variables that the computers at Zillow and CyberHomes won’t necessarily catch.
The home-valuation sites are fine for laughs, or to get a rough – sometimes very rough – estimate of what your home might be worth. But for serious pricing decisions, stick with a human being.
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Youtube…A New Real Estate Tool
June 4th, 2008 categories: Chicago Real Estate News, Real Estate News, Real Estate Videos, Technology
YouTube has become one of the most popular websites on the internet in the past two years. Videos covering everything from laughing babies, sneezing pandas, and a kid pretending he is a character in the Star Wars saga can be seen by simply searching as one might on Google.
Although YouTube has an exceedingly large amount of hilarious content, there are also a number of ways this website can be used to exchange relevant information and create increased opportunities for education on a topic of your choosing. The real estate industry has certainly embraced this technology, offering a wide range of content that can be viewed by any person with access to the internet. Check out the video below for more information from a CNBC special report (ironically hosted on YouTube).
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Google Mapping: The “Big Brother” of Chicago Neighborhood Observation
May 6th, 2008 categories: Real Estate News, Technology
When considering the purchase of a new home, the choice of location is paramount as one of the factors in deciding where to relocate. This is especially true for those people who are migrating to a place that they are more-or-less unfamiliar with. This can include gathering information about the general aesthetics of a given neighborhood or street, and/or the location of schools, hospitals, and transportation with respect to your future home. Other inquiries can also be as trivial as ensuring a Starbucks© or your favorite restaurant is within close proximity (understandable considering we all love our daily dose of overpriced coffee).
To take advantage of such a useful tool, simply click on the Maps section of Google’s© home page and search for a particular address. A map will be displayed, with your address search denoted by a little green arrow. From this point, just click on street view, and shazaam, instant street level views that can be manipulated 360° in any direction – not to mention the zoom capabilities. Despite the fact this feature of Google© is exclusive to only a few cities, Chicago is lucky enough to have been selected for street level mapping, meaning any person in the market for a new home in the city has access to such an invaluable tool.
Though this particular aspect of Google© can be extremely useful, there are a number of other Goolge powered programs that might also be helpful. This includes the Google Maps© directions function as well as real time traffic displays, 
which will also be available for mobile devices like Blackberry’s© and other smart-phones/PDAs.
Ultimately, Google© has developed functionality that far exceeds simply viewing a map or getting directions to a given location. As a buyer, you have an array of tools to help in your decision making process, which certainly could include Google Mapping©. We would highly suggest you investigate this feature more extensively, as it may assist you in becoming a more informed consumer.
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