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July 30, 2014November 23, 2021

The anonymity of the internet has made real estate more personal

It might not be a revelation that the initial news about Zillow’s acquisition of Trulia reverberated among the analysts as a game changer for the real estate industry. But you might be surprised that some commentaries, such as Brad Stone’s of BloomburgBusinessWeek.com (How a Zillow-Trulia Merger Could Finally Change the Business of Real Estate), expressed that the transaction of buying and selling homes has not really changed since the inception of these internet giants.

Compared to 2013, decreased sales volume has made 2014 a challenging year for many in the real estate industry. And contrary to what some believe, the Trulia acquisition may not necessarily be a sign of strength; but rather, it may be sign of continued weakness in the industry. Tim Logan comments on the acquisition in his July 28^th Los Angeles Times article (Zillow deal to buy Trulia creates real estate digital ad juggernaut), “Neither is yet profitable separately, but they hope to save $100 million a year by joining forces and cutting duplicative costs.”

Regardless of the economics behind the acquisition, the significance of Zillow and Trulia (and other similar websites) cannot be underestimated. And although many believed these sites were to have changed the real estate industry in a manner similar to how the internet changed the travel and retail industries; Zillow and Trulia have been leaders in transforming the home buyer and seller experience. And instead of minimizing the importance of the real estate agent; MLS aggregators have become facilitators and part of the home buying/selling process by packaging syndicated MLS feeds and other related information to consumers in a convenient and eloquent way through the internet, while selling services to real estate professionals vis-à-vis subscriptions and advertising.

The general process of buying and selling a home is still somewhat the same as it has been for decades. Before internet access became prevalent, real estate agents mostly met with their clients in person to review available home listings, discuss financing and other related matters. Although many used the technology of the day (fax machine and telephone), the preferred meeting was face-to-face. As the internet flourished, technology adopters were able to correspond with clients via email, text messages, and Skype. And as the technology evolved, so too did the daily business of real estate. Searching for homes became increasingly streamlined, and the flow of documents became more efficient.

Some have made the argument that the internet and related technologies may have been an enabler of the real estate bubble of the early to mid 2000’s. However, the reality may be that the real estate bubble facilitated the growth of real estate aggregators and the use of internet technologies. The proliferation of information at that time, along with the effective use of new technologies, fed house hungry buyers who wanted to be the first to know about a home for sale before other buyers. Internet and cell phone applications were developed to automatically send listing alerts to buyers’ emails and cell phones (technology that is commonly used today and even useful in hot markets where homes sell quickly).

Buying and selling a home is still a personal business. Instead of eliminating the real estate agent; websites such as Zillow and Trulia may have forced the agent to evolve from the information gate keeper to the local real estate expert who can interpret information for clients into meaningful data that can be used to facilitate the buying and selling of homes.

Disclaimer. This article is not intended to provide nor should it be relied upon for legal and financial advice. Readers should not rely solely on the information contained herein, as it does not purport to be comprehensive or render specific advice. Readers should consult with an attorney regarding local real estate laws and customs as they vary by state and jurisdiction. This article was originally published the week of July 28, 2014 (Montgomery County Sentinel). Using this article without permission is a violation of copyright laws. Copyright © Dan Krell.

July 24, 2014December 13, 2022

When selling a home – pictures more important than descriptions

The maxim “beauty is in the eye of the beholder” seems to be applied universally. But the meaning that different people are attracted to different characteristics may be also applied when viewing homes online. Recent research confirms how visual cues can either increase or put off a home buyer’s interest in your home.

Seiler, Madhavan, & Liechty’s 2012 ground breaking research on home buyers’ attention to visual cues deviates from the usual valuation models that focus on the perception of a home’s features (Seiler, Madhavan, & Liechty. (2012). Ocular tracking and the behavioral effects of negative externalities on perceived property values. Journal of Housing Research, 21(2), 123-137). Their study used ocular tracking technology to follow the eye movements of people viewing internet home listings. They found that people tend to spend more time viewing a home’s photos than reading about the property’s features, agent comments and other information; study participants viewed photos 60% of the time.

They concluded that the “percentage of time a person spends looking at the photo of the home” is more indicative of a person’s interest in a home than reading about the property’s characteristics or reading the agent’s descriptions; and it could be inferred that the longer a person looks at a home’s pictures, the more they might be interested in viewing it in person. As a result, the authors recommend that “real estate agents exercise great care when taking good photos of the property before listing a residence for sale.”

Additionally, the study reported some interesting findings about a home’s value relative to negatively perceived features. Negative features that can be changed easily and inexpensively (such as carpets or paint) were not viewed by the study’s participants as a reason to significantly discount a home’s value; however, viewing negative external features that cannot be changed (such proximity to transmission lines or cell towers) is perceived to lower a home’s value.

The study’s findings about visual cues seems consistent with a 2008 Realtor® Magazine article (“How Photos Help Sell Homes”; realtor.org) which indicated that a home’s days on market is drastically reduced when there are multiple quality photos: “A property with a single photo spent 70 days on the market (DOM) on average, while DOM fell to 40 with six photos, 36 with 16 to 19 photos, and 32 with 20 photos…” The same article also reports that your home will probably sell for more if your agent posts multiple quality photos compared to posting only one photo; “listings with one photo sold for 91.2 percent of the original price, while homes with six or more sold for 95 percent of the original price…”

So it seems that Seiler, Madhavan, & Liechty’s findings confirm the conventional wisdom to make your home look its best prior to listing it, as well as well as having the best quality photos posted to your listing. If you’re planning a home sale, consider asking about and comparing agents’ marketing concepts – including photos and video. It is customary for many agents to hire a third party to take and post pictures for the MLS listing and virtual tour. However, even though the posted pictures are high resolution, many MLS photos are distorted and/or do not depict the best viewpoint. To increase interest in your home – ensure that your hi-res photos are high quality by using the proper perspective and highlights the home’s features.

Disclaimer. This article is not intended to provide nor should it be relied upon for legal and financial advice. Readers should not rely solely on the information contained herein, as it does not purport to be comprehensive or render specific advice. Readers should consult with an attorney regarding local real estate laws and customs as they vary by state and jurisdiction. This article was originally published the week of July 21, 2014 (Montgomery County Sentinel). Using this article without permission is a violation of copyright laws. Copyright © Dan Krell.

April 3, 2014November 23, 2021

House shopping strategies without using MLS

The low housing inventory is discouraging many home buyers. Low inventory along with increasing home prices and buyer competition can make shopping for a home today a frustrating endeavor. If you’re a serious home buyer, there may be other strategies to finding homes for sale other than those listed in the multiple list system (MLS).

The “For Sale by Owner” sign in the yard is a tell tale sign; however did you know that many FSBO’s can be found listed in the MLS? These are listed through brokers who are paid a flat fee as an MLS listing placement service. And although most are listed online, not all FSBO’s are found in the MLS. You can also find FSBO’s on numerous “by-owner” sites, as well as Zillow, Trulia, or Craigslist.

Listservs and internet groups are another way to find non-MLS homes for sale; however, neighborhood groups often restrict membership to residents. Leveraging your personal and social networks by announcing your search for the non-MLS home for sale will most likely prompt them to inform you about what they have heard through their networks and neighborhood listservs/groups.

The National Association of Realtors® 2013 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers (realtor.org) indicates that 92% of buyers search the internet. Besides FSBO’s; online services such as Zillow, Trulia, Craigslist, also list foreclosures auctions, pre-foreclosures, and of course broker listings too. The internet is also where scammers are lurking, waiting to prey on you. Be wary about phone numbers that are out of the area; experts agree that you can avoid most scams if you deal with local individuals with whom you can meet in person.

Buying a foreclosure is often suggested as an avenue to buy a non-MLS home. Although most bank-owned homes become listed in the MLS, you have the opportunity to purchase a home at the foreclosure auction. If you’re an auction novice, seek out a real estate professional to assist you; homes are purchased “as-is” and you usually do not have the opportunity to inspect the interior. Mistakes that are often made by inexperienced auction bidders include misunderstanding the terms of the auction, overestimating home values on those they bid, as well as getting carried away and over bidding. Pre-foreclosures are often listed in the MLS as short sales; however, it is necessary to be aware of local laws (such as the Maryland Protection of Homeowners in Foreclosure Act) when approaching distressed home owners who have not listed their home for sale.

Searching through expired and withdrawn MLS listings is another way to find eager home sellers. Your real estate agent can provide you with such a list; however, it is not easy and you may quickly discover the reasons why many of these homes did not sell.

Even though, many alternate strategies for finding a non-MLS home for sale can be achieved without a real estate agent you should consider hiring an agent; besides representing you and assisting in structuring and facilitating the transaction, it is also common for agents to use these strategies to search on behalf of their busy clients.

A down side of the search for the non-MLS home for sale is that instead of competing with other home buyers, you’re competing with many real estate agents; not just those agents representing home buyers, but also the many agents searching for their next MLS listing.

by Dan Krell ©
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Disclaimer. This article is not intended to provide nor should it be relied upon for legal and financial advice. Readers should not rely solely on the information contained herein, as it does not purport to be comprehensive or render specific advice. Readers should consult with an attorney regarding local real estate laws and customs as they vary by state and jurisdiction. This article was originally published the week of March 31, 2014 (Montgomery County Sentinel). Using this article without permission is a violation of copyright laws. Copyright © Dan Krell.

January 24, 2014July 25, 2019

Home buyers become internet detectives

Home buyers have access to more information in today’s internet connected society than ever before. Home buyers have become internet detectives, doing their home buying research online.

Years ago, a buyer would have to act as a detective to verify or uncover more information about a home; their sleuthing could take up lots of time at the court house and library, as well as interviewing neighbors. Besides the seemingly countless number of online resources for home searches, buyers today also have many internet resources available to them to obtain home and neighborhood information.

Home buyers are internet detectives.

Neighborhood and demographic information are now readily available online in many home search websites. For example, neighborhood information currently displayed includes information about a zip code that includes: home sale statistics; general population demographics; economic, school information and environmental information; and even information about quality of life. Other popular search sites with lots of valuable information include (but not limited to): zillow.com, trulia.com, and redfin.com.

Many home buyers also look to greatschools.org as a reference for local school information. The website describes itself as a national non-profit whose mission is to “inspire and support families to champion their children’s education – at school, at home and in their community…”

As interest in the paranormal has increased, more people are interested in knowing if someone died in their home. For a fee, diedinhouse.com offers a report that could include: if a death occurred in the home, the name of the deceased, cause of death, list of previous residents, and possible information about the death.

Besides commercial websites; state, county and municipality websites also offer an abundance of information. For example, some of the local agencies that maintain websites hold valuable data to home buyers and owners. For example, the Montgomery County Department of Housing and Community Affairs’ eProperty Data Mining Tool. The tool allows you to search multiple State and County databases for information about a home. Information that may be included: Department of Assessments and Taxation Real Property, code enforcement, permits, and Montgomery County Police.

Home buyers who are curious about neighborhood crime can find a number of commercial websites that map crime and offender information; however, to get accurate and timely information, you should probably look to the local police departments. By directing specific questions to the police by visiting local precincts, you can obtain a wealth of information. However, much of the information can also be viewed online: For example, the Montgomery County Police website has links to local crime statistics and even active warrants. The site also has a link to the sex offender registry (which is maintained by the Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services) as well as information about receiving alerts when an offender moves into your zip code.

Another local agency that offers information is the Montgomery County Department of Permitting Services. The website offers a data search tool that can display recent permit applications and permit status for a specific address. The site also includes zoning and code information. However, online County Master Plan (montgomeryplanning.org) information is offered by Montgomery County Planning Department, and can be viewed at.

As online resources grow, anyone can join the “internet detectives.” Although there are many online resources available, the websites listed here are not inclusive; I am not endorsing any commercial websites. Besides being cautious when visiting websites; you should acknowledge that many commercial sites are not 100% accurate, as disclaimers will disclose that technical and/ or reporting errors can occur in the collection and/or reporting of data.

Original located at https://dankrell.com/blog/2014/01/24/home-buyers-become-internet-detectives/

By Dan Krell
Copyright © 2014

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Disclaimer. This article is not intended to provide nor should it be relied upon for legal and financial advice. Readers should not rely solely on the information contained herein, as it does not purport to be comprehensive or render specific advice. Readers should consult with an attorney regarding local real estate laws and customs as they vary by state and jurisdiction. Using this article without permission is a violation of copyright laws.

August 8, 2013July 2, 2019

Amazon and real estate – will Bezos’ vision change marketing of home listings

The big news this week is of course Jeff Bezos’ purchase of the Washington Post. Why would the man who predicted the demise print media pay $250 million for a regional newspaper and a handful of associated local papers?

If the real estate business is a window into how media plays a role in the daily lives of the average American, then Bezos’ purchase might be a head scratcher. Over the last five years, the National Association of Realtors® annual Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers (realtor.org) has demonstrated how the internet has increasingly played a role in how home buyers actively searched for homes. In 2007, the Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers indicated that about 60% of home buyers completely relied on the internet to search for their home, while about 21% did not use the internet at all in their search. Compare those statistics to the 2012 Profile, which reported that 90% of home buyers used the internet to search for homes; and home buyers who were younger than 44 years of age, the use of the internet is reported to be 96%!

It seems as if home buyers relied on the weekend real estate sections of the paper for a leg up on new home listings and open houses. Real estate agents and brokers happily paid to have their listings included in what seemed to be the weekly catalog of homes for sale. In addition to the home listings, print real estate sections also included other related information (such as decorating, renovation, and buying/selling tips).

However, as the NAR’s Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers indicated, there was a sharp increase in the reliance of the internet to search for homes from 2007 -2012. The time frame is no coincidence; besides the exponential increase in technology and computing power during this period, it also covers the housing bust and subsequent foreclosure crisis. This was a time of tight advertising budgets and the search for efficient advertising modes; the internet offered a bigger bang for the advertising dollar, offering a more robust real estate platform than print could ever offer.

And although there was a colossal increase in the reliance of the internet for real estate listing information in the last five years, there was a consolidation and reorganization of online real estate content during that time frame as well. As the housing market declined in 2007, many sites stopped syndicating their own content and instead partnered with one of the high profile, well organized real estate portals.

It might seem as if the purchase of the Washington Post by an internet visionary who had once foretold the death of printed news might be confusing. But if you understand the Amazon.com business model and how it revolutionized the purchase and delivery of print and recorded media, you would not speculate that the purchase of the venerable news organization was to expand an internet empire to the newsstand – but rather you might believe that the purchase was to acquire a widely recognized brand that generates a considerable amount of content that can be packaged and sold through Bezos’ established model.

Just as the internet revolutionized real estate content and home listings, you might imagine how Bezos’ novel news paradigm could increase the robustness of content and distribution of home and open house listings.

This article is not intended to provide nor should it be relied upon for legal and financial advice. Using this article without permission is a violation of copyright laws.