If you are planning to launch a real estate site, it is advisable that you research the online property sales market and get an insight into buyer’s trends and habits. This short post contains information relevant to the state of things at a current real estate market. We hope that the tips you will learn from the article will help you run your business more effectively.
More people are buying than renting today
In the past, more people chose to rent a house or an apartment rather than buy it, even on mortgage. However, nowadays the situation is changing, and according to recent Bloomberg insight, steady job market and lower mortgage rates coupled with rising rent costs are turning ex renters into homebuyers. You also need to know that younger generation prefers to shop online and it also relates to home buyers. Google data reveal that real estate related searches have increased by 253% over the last 4 years.
If you have a real estate agency, a realty script is a must!
If you are the owner of a brick-and-mortar real estate agency, you need an online representation of your business where you may showcase your listings to potential buyers. In our Internet-dominated world, even the most conservative entrepreneurs can’t expect to do business the old way by posting listings in a local newspaper. According to the recent research conducted by the National Association of Realtors and Google, 90% of homebuyers start a search for a property online! You’ll definitely lose a huge chunk of your business by not offering your users an opportunity to browse your listings with photos, map view and an accurate description on the site.
Regional focus will help you grow faster
You may ask yourself a question “why open a real estate site when giants like Trulia or Zillow rule the web world?” Firstly, Trulia and Zillow are targeting the entire United States. If you’ve decided to launch a real estate site and embrace the entire country, we’d say that this might not be a good idea from the start. Conversely, if you start in your state, city or even a neighborhood, users from this area may prefer to do business with you because they will feel a personal touch,. Take one step at a time and position your site as an expert in house sales in Arizona or Phoenix for instance. People living in your local area will more likely deal with you because you are representing the area and focus solely on it. Having said that, you should of course dream big and eventually target more areas and places, but it’s a reasonable idea to start your real estate site with a focus on your regional area first.
Focus on content and not on the site looks and features
Probably one of the biggest mistakes you can make at the start is to focus too much on the site looks, design and features. A lot of webmasters think about decorating their sites and making them look as appealing as possible. In reality, users don’t need all the bells and whistles, what they really need and value is the right content. If a user does not find a listing that fits his preferences or lands on a number of poorly arranged listings with little information, chances are he will leave never to return again, and a fancy design won’t stop him. When you are launching a real estate site, focus primarily on the content; make sure the listings are complete with all the information that the user may need. If the user finds what he is looking for, he is likely to become a returning visitor, the more of them, the more value to your business.
Mobile application is a must nowadays!
Google study reveals that 68% of home searchers use mobile applications at the onset and throughout their search. If you think that people use the mobile application when they are not around their PC or a laptop, for instance waiting in line, at a restaurant or elsewhere, you’ll be surprised to find out that 77% of home shoppers prefer to use the mobile application even when they are at home close to their PC or a laptop. With larger screens and user-friendly mobile applications, home searchers find it easier and more convenient to browse listings through their mobiles devices. Therefore, you should invest in a mobile application, be it iOS or Android operated, for your real estate site to allow your users to stay tuned at all times.
The tips in this post are based on Flynax expertise and experience in selling and managing real estate sites. The factual data has been derived from Bloomberg articles and reports released by Google. We don’t know whether you were aware of these tips all along or they came as an eye-opener. What we do know is that if you take these tips into account when launching your real estate site, you will certainly get ahead of your competitors who are not keeping an eye on current online real estate trends.