October 12, 2005

A Heavenly View of Real Estate

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A Heavenly View of Real Estate

- by Jeff Hoffman

© Jeff Hoffman- All Rights reserved
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Until recently only a NASA astronaut or an angel could offer a bird's eye view of local real estate listings. Now, a new online service called "HomePages" is offering both buyers and sellers cool aerial views of both actively listed and sold homes.

I came across a great article by Seattle Post-Intelligencer columnist John Cook that describes this new technology.
John Cook's Venture Blog Zooming in on Real Estate Listings

Online aerial maps are changing the way people look for new homes. Kirkland-based HouseValues Inc. entered the game today with a free service called HomePages.

As my story points out today, HouseValues is one of a number of entrants in this emerging category. Others include Seattle-based Redfin -- backed by Madrona Venture Group -- and San Francisco-based Trulia -- a Stanford University project with undisclosed investors.

And then there is Seattle-based Zillow -- the mysterious online real estate project founded by former Expedia Chief Executive Rich Barton. Could they incorporate maps into their consumer real estate offering?

Here's a good perspective from Seattle's Rain City Real Estate Guide on how new online search tools -- like those from Trulia -- are changing the real estate game.

"It won't take long for the industry to see some major changes. It may be through Trulia and their opt-in database. It may be from some type of Craigslist on steroids (think Google Classifieds). It may be the product of a dream from Rich Barton or Barry Dillar (sic). Whatever the solution is, it is being created right now and it will provide huge benefits to home buyers and sellers," the author writes.

Kirkland-based HouseValues Inc. entered the game today with a free service called HomePages.

As my story points out today, HouseValues is one of a number of entrants in this emerging category. Others include Seattle-based Redfin -- backed by Madrona Venture Group -- and San Francisco-based Trulia -- a Stanford University project with undisclosed investors.

And then there is Seattle-based Zillow -- the mysterious online real estate project founded by former Expedia Chief Executive Rich Barton.

Consumers are getting more comfortable searching the web for home information, now with dynamic mapping tools becoming more readily available, the ease with which both buyers and sellers can become more knowledgeable about property values is, in my opinion, a very good thing.

Gone are the days of real estate agents being the exclusive providers of such detailed information. As the client becomes more educated, the relationship between the client and the real estate agent will move more towards the real estate agent taking on a larger role of an advisor instead of a disseminator of housing information.

This will provide more protectionism for the client as they will no longer have to solely rely upon the real estate agent when it comes to gathering "intelligence" about the housing market. Make no mistake; having data is different than being able to properly interpret that data. It's foolish to think that a consumer could analyze housing information as well as a professional real estate agent. But having access to the information will offer a greater assurance that the client will have ample opportunity to protect their interests.

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Jeff Hoffman is the President of Hoffman Realty Group, Inc. and has assisted in over 100 relocation transactions during his real estate career. He is the creator of a powerful home selling system designed for the home seller not the real estate agent. To learn more about his Smart Seller Home Selling System visit
www.SmartSellerListing.com

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