Seattle Housing Buzz

So you’re out about town looking at homes, or not, and you come across a house for sale that strikes your interest. You like to know more about it, like the price and how many bedrooms it has and maybe view a few photos, but darn it, the flyer box is empty and you really don’t want to call the listing agent. If you’re like most, you jot down the address or listing number and wait till your home to check out the listing online.

Or, you can pull out your web-enabled mobile phone to view the listing online right there and then.

I looked at websites of technologically forward real estate companies in Seattle to compare the ease of conducting a property search (depth and ease of locating the address and MLS# search options) and the display of the information including viewable sized photos as well as the number of pages and clicks that are needed to view the property information. Here’s my unscientific test results using my Treo 755 w/Palm OS, ranked from worst to best.

6. Redfin

Redfin’s site is not optimized for mobile browsing and viewing the website on my phone shows an awkwardly chopped-up display in order to be viewable in a mobile browser. I made several attempts to search for listings but kept getting an error stating the page was too large to display, then a JavaScript error. Redfin’s site was the only one to return a JavaScript error. If I’m on the road I’m not going to mess with trying to view listing info on Redfin.

After loading the necessary JavaScript, it didn’t help much. The maps didn’t load and I got other errors indicating data could not be displayed. Though, I did come across a comment from one of their program managers on the Redfin forum indicating a mobile version is in the works.

Verdict: Ranks last since I couldn’t successfully conduct a property search on my phone, however results may be different with other mobile operating systems and/or browsers.

5. Re/Max

The Re/Max site had the most limited search features which made it more difficult to narrow down to a specific property, but it did include an MLS# search that was just one click from the home page. An address search option is available but was four convoluted clicks away.

And, like the other company websites, it had a very chopped-up display. However, once you get past all that and viewed the actual listing info, they provided all of the listing details on a single page. This is great since you don’t need to wait for additional pages to resolve. But, I was only able to view one photo; clicking on the next photo button didn’t do anything but reload the page.

Verdict: Probably the best display of listing information, but it requires a convoluted four clicks to access the address search feature and trouble viewing photos.

4. Coldwell Banker Bain

CB Bain does not offer a mobile version, either, and their website is displayed in a chopped-up format. Their pages are large which takes quite a bit of time to fully download, plus I also received a page too large to display error.

The site offered an MLS# search on the home page with the address search feature two clicks away, which is a bit much considering how long it takes for each page to display. The initial listing page provided basic info and required one additional click to get detailed info and viewable sized photos. However, once the pages resolved, it was pretty easy to read and navigate through. The address search was a bit awkward with the city field showing up in between the house number and street fields.

Verdict: It simply took far too long to access and download the listing information.

3. John L. Scott

As with all of the sites above, the John L. Scott website is not mobile optimized, formats the site in awkwardly and is slow to resolve. It offers a couple of search options on the home page including an MLS # search, but the address search was two clicks away.

The initial listing page provided basic property information and a single photo. Though, additional information and thumbnails were another click away. Unfortunately, I was not able to view the other images in a decent viewable size.

Verdict: Results were similar to CB Bain (developed by the same tech firm) with the lack of viewing other photos offset by a faster download time.

2. Windermere

Windermere does not offer a mobile optimized website and the site displayed in the choppy format as well.

Fortunately, the Windermere site provides an address and MLS# search option on the home page, which made it very simple and considerably faster to access the listing information. However, detailed info and photos were on multiple pages requiring additional clicks and wait time. The listing page shows one viewable photo with a link to the photo gallery that only display thumbnails.

Verdict: Windermere offers the most accessible search feature for non-mobile site, but viewing listing information necessitated navigating multiple pages and only had thumbnail photos.

1. John L. Scott Mobile

John L. Scott is the only company to offer a mobile optimized website which can be accessed at m.johnlscott.com.

The site is basic, just a home search application that’s stripped of unnecessary options which makes loading and navigation faster and more user friendly. The home page defaults to an MLS# or John L. Scott property code search option with an address search option one click away.

If you have the MLS#, the mobile application displays all of the listing information on a one page with a single photo. Unfortunately, the site does not provide additional photos.

If you enter an address, the application returns all of the listings at that address (e.g. condos) as well as all available properties within a 1-mile radius. This is a great feature when you’re out looking at properties and you want to see what’s available near the one you’re at.

Verdict: The only mobile-optimized site, so by default, ranks first. Though, the experience is diminished by the omission of viewing multiple photos.

Tags: , CB Bain, Coldwell Banker, John L Scott, mobile website, Redfin, Remax, Windermere

The NWMLS Board of Directors recently approved a revision to its data display policies that will take effect July 3, 2008. The change is not overwhelming but is significant in that additional, pertinent information will be made publicly available, namely the listing price history and the cumulative days on market (CDOM). I know Redfin is feverishly working to incorporate the new info. No word from the major companies (Windermere, CB Bain, John L Scott), however, they do not currently publish all available data as it is.

Tags: NWMLS

More John L. Scott news…

John L. Scott Real Estate Chairman and CEO, J. Lennox Scott, announced the company’s purchase of Real Tech LLC, a web-based technology solutions company. With this change in ownership, Real Tech will evolve into John L. Scott’s exclusive in-house technology provider. Scott says that the decision to purchase Real Tech was made in order to support John L. Scott’s aggressive technology needs.

“We have a voracious appetite for technology,” said Scott. “The purchase of Real Tech provides John L. Scott with the ongoing, real time resources that we need to meet our ambitious technology goals.”

Real Tech has been John L. Scott’s technology partner collectively for five years and has been responsible for providing the development behind some of John L. Scott’s most notable web-related achievements, including the launch of Microsoft Virtual Earth, Neighborhood Wizard with Microsoft’s polygon drawing tool, and the integration of comparable sold home information with Microsoft’s interactive mapping system. Scott says that the successful partnership between John L. Scott, Real Tech, and Microsoft will continue to produce new innovations for the real estate industry in the coming months.

Real Tech General Manager, Adam Jundt, says, “John L Scott has a serious commitment to delivering cutting-edge technology solutions to their agents and the real estate consumer. Combined with Real Tech’s expertise, this enhanced partnership will fuel the next generation of products and services, continuing our role as technology leaders in the real estate industry.”

Real Tech’s nine team members will now operate within John L. Scott’s marketing and eStrategies department which is headed by Pat Giles, Vice President of Marketing and eStrategies. Giles recently joined John L. Scott, bringing a diverse technical and management background that blends together more than twenty years of experience in marketing, IT, and internet strategies.

Tags: John L. Scott Real Estate, RealTech

Buyers, sellers and real estate enthusiasts can now receive up-to-date sold property information via email. John L. Scott Real Estate, the first company to publish sold property data, has added a sold email feature.

Users can now easily keep track of Seattle’s housing activity. Whether you’re a buyer or seller you can sign-up to receive notification when a property has closed and at what price it sold for. Since the information comes directly from the NWMLS it’s the most up-to-date available.

To utilize the feature, sign up for a John L Scott’s Property Tracker account and create a search using the Interactive Map search option.

Related:
Improved search information on John L Scott
Neighborhood Wizard search feature

Tags: John L Scott, Seattle Real Estate

John L. Scott has also launched an enhancement to its interactive mapping tool on www.JohnLScott.com. Now, visitors to John L. Scott’s website can view sold home information right along side homes for sale (see below). John L. Scott originally launched comparable sold property information in 2006 which appeared on its own mapping interface, but with this latest enhancement, consumers can view all homes for sale as well as those that recently sold on one interactive map.

Sold properties will now show along side active properties; solds in red and actives in blue.

In addition to the map, a list option is available:

By default, the sold listings are included in the search results. Users can remove the sold listings by unchecking the “Show Sold Properties” box:

In fact, I would suggest unchecking the box before viewing the listings in the Gallery view otherwise the solds will be included:

Tags: Home Search, John L Scott, Sold Data

Soon home buyers will be able to view home search listings right on their computer desktop. John L. Scott Real Estate is launching a Desktop Delivery tool that’ll enable home buyers access to the most up-to-date home search results. Users who download the gadget will receive new listings that meet their home search criteria on their desktop. The tool updates every two hours and works only with Vista.

According to Lennox Scott, John L. Scott’s CEO, “Visitors can download a gadget for any (and every) saved search, enabling them to have the most current, relevant home search information right on their desktop. Scott said “It’s like having a miniature slide show of your favorite homes for sale right at your finger tips.”

In the past six months, John L Scott has seen a 14% increase in its Property Tracker home search accounts. With over 100,000 accounts, the company notes that home buyers want to receive new listings as soon as they hit the market. The desktop tool provides a simple and immediate means of delivering the information to home buyers.

John L. Scott Real Estate has been an industry technology leader introducing many innovative internet tools and features for buyers and sellers, including high-definition and bird’s eye view images, the neighborhood wizard mapping tool and sold comparable data.

Tags: Home Search, John L Scott

Inman News, a real estate media site, recently spotlighted a series feature several innovative Seattle-based real estate related companies at InmanTV.com. The interviews were conducte at Zillow’s office by Joel Burslem and provides some interesting insights.

Click on the links below to view the interviews:
Zillow

Redfin

John L. Scott

Estately

Tags: Inman, John L Scott, Redfin, Zillow

The Sellisius Blog Tour USA made a quick stop in Seattle on Wednesday, the latest on their zig zagging cross country real estate blogging trek (view route) which started in New York eons ago. Their final destination is the Inman Blogger Connect in San Francisco.

During their one-day visit, Rudy & Joe of Sellsius, plus a handful of local and Canadian real estate bloggers, toured the headquarters of Zillow and Redfin and hung out at the Pike Place Market.

I tagged along on the Zillow and Redfin office visits. I enjoyed the time at Zillow, meeting Drew and DavidG, listening to the lively debate between Joe and DavidG on Zillow’s tactics and partaking in their fantastic views high atop the Wells Fargo Center in downtown.

From the polished offices of Zillow we hiked over to Redfin in Pioneer Square. Claiming they’re in the process of moving to the Dexter Horton Building…cluttered, cramped & shabby chic came to mind walking around Redfin. They were friendly folk and I had the opportunity to meet Matt of urbnlivn.com fame. Plus, I scored a Redfin mug and toy plane (which doesn’t fly very well BTW).

Today, John L. Scott Real Estate launched an new search feature allowing users to pinpoint searches to a specific neighborhood or even a city block. The new feature is called the “Neighborhood Wizard” and works by allowing users to use a polygon tool to draw their own search parameters.

Based on Microsoft’s polygon tool technology, John L. Scott is the first real estate company to utilize this feature.

John L. Scott was the first real estate company to incorporate Microsoft’s Virtual Earth technology and provide sold listing data directly to the public, leading the real estate industry as one of the most forward thinking, innovative companies.

Using the new search feature

1. Start by visiting John L. Scott’s redesigned home page and click on a state:

2. Using the mouse, hover the rectangular box over the desired area to zoom to that location:

3. Above the map search screen the new “Neighborhood Wizard” button appears (You can also recenter or zoom into a specific area). Upon clicking the button, the mouse will change to a crosshairs (”+”) and instructions will appear:

4. Close Up of the “Neighborhood Wizard” button:

5. Click on a starting point and drag the mouse to begin drawing the desired search area. Click on the mouse to add a new point and continue:

6. To complete the drawing area, return and click on the point of origin (the blue dot) or click on the “Done” button”:

7. The results will automatically appear on the map when the shape is complete. You can also use the zoom in / out and scrolling options.

8. You can also refine your search future by utilizing filters on the left side of the map:

Then, view listing information by clicking on the “View property details” link.
This is a great way to narrow a search to a specific neighborhood, block or condo building, thus only showing the available properties you’re interested in.

Tags: John L Scott

Quietly, real estate in Western Washington will be less visible. On April 23rd, the Northwest MLS, a listing service representing companies in 19 counties, will stop uploading its property listings to Realtor.com.

Realtor.com is perhaps the closest thing we have to a national listing database. It’s supported by the hundreds of local MLS’ who provide their listing data to Realtor.com.

So, what does this mean for the average home seller? Less visibility and potentially fewer buyers.

What does this mean for the average home buyer? Well, if you’re already in Washington, it probably has very little impact. Most ‘local’ buyers most likely already use the big company websites such as johnlscott.com or windermere.com to facilitate their online searches.

The move by the NWMLS will impact out-of-state buyers and those looking to relocate to the area the most.

However, individual companies may decide to upload their own listings to Realtor.com. As of April 23, John L. Scott will the be largest real estate company in Washington to provide property listings on Realtor.com. Interestingly, Windermere has long chosen to keep their listings off of Realtor.com.