RISMEDIA, September 30, 2010—Move, Inc., a leader in online real estate, launched a redesigned Realtor.com website backed by new technology that combines multiple search capabilities into an integrated and seamless search experience to help consumers find their next property faster while connecting with greater ease to local real estate experts matching their needs.
Powered by a new platform built with proprietary technology and a new property database, the #1 homes for sale website is now easier to navigate, and property listings and information important to the home buying process are easier to find while remaining fresh, accurate and reliable.
“A primary objective for the redesign was to create a search experience that places more information in the hands of both Realtors and consumers, supported by technology that enables Move to make fluid platform innovations that keep pace with today’s rapidly changing marketplace,” said Steve Berkowitz, chief executive officer of Move, Inc. “Today’s launch of the redesigned site solidifies our position as the trusted source for easy to find, accurate information consumers need to meet their real estate goals. The new site also empowers real estate professionals to be clearly positioned as local experts in a manner that keeps them central to real estate transactions.”
Berkowitz continued by describing significant updates to the redesigned site including visibility and access to active listings, new construction, rentals and off-market (recently sold) properties, now integrated and easily discoverable from one location: the search box on the Realtor.com home page. This enhancement enables buyers and real estate professionals to search for active listings, while providing access to sales and tax history from sold listings along with other relevant property data consumers and real estate experts can use to monitor local market trends as they navigate real estate together.
“Streamlining the search experience as we’ve done on the redesigned site brings these once disparate search items together and vastly improves the speed at which data is surfaced in a more organized fashion,” Berkowitz said. “Thus, the search experience becomes more rewarding for buyers and sellers, as well as the local real estate experts they work with to interpret and use the information as part of the buying and selling process.”
Another new feature showcased on the Realtor.com homepage is the new Spotlight module, a content-driven widget continuously updated so visitors remain current on new site features, interesting market insights and information, and real estate technologies developed by Move that will enhance the search experience. Through the Spotlight module, buyers and sellers can also quickly access Realtor.com’s free home valuation service for information about local market conditions and, in the process, recognize the value of working with a Realtor.
Property listings on the new Realtor.com now presents information so prospective buyers can better evaluate, compare and locate properties of interest. As part of the redesign, the listing detail pages now provide a categorized, at-a-glance summary of each property listing that better displays price and lot size, the number and types of rooms, the interior and exterior features and more. The new listing detail pages also provide the most recent property details updated directly from Move’s Multiple Listing Service (MLS) partners, as well as the number of days each property has been displayed on the site. When available, the property’s sales and tax history is provided along with standard information such as school ratings, property information, virtual tours, and the agent’s other listings.
A new map experience is also being unveiled and includes the same unified and integrated experience found throughout the redesigned site displaying for sale, off-market or sold properties with each category shown with a distinctive icon. The interactive maps, generated by Microsoft’s Bing Maps, provides driving directions, estimated values of neighboring properties, median income, and nearby listings. The new Realtor.com mapping experience also includes nearby points of interest such as hospitals, police and fire stations, places of worship, libraries, restaurants, post offices and more. A new Nearby Schools section displays public and private schools, and school ratings.
“The integration of Move’s proprietary technology with these new design changes creates an exciting opportunity for today’s buyers to expand their expectations of how to search for a home on Realtor.com, what to expect as they explore neighborhoods and local market trends, and how to find the right real estate professional,” said Errol Samuelson, president of Realtor.com. “In addition, Move’s commitment to keep real estate professionals central to the transaction is reaffirmed on the new ‘Find Realtors’ landing page. By combining features from ‘See My Listings’ into this new experience, and making it easily discoverable from the Realtor.com homepage, we believe real estate professionals will receive greater exposure of their brands and client listings that will serve to better connect them with buyers and sellers more effectively.”
Consumers interested in connecting with a local real estate expert can now use the newly enhanced Find a Realtor feature showcased prominently on the new ‘Find Realtors’ landing page. This new and easy-to-use sorting feature specifies desired certifications and specialties, sales areas or neighborhoods served, as well as the agent’s or company’s name so consumers can be quickly connected to a list of agents matching their needs. It also features links to each agent’s Realtor.com ‘Find Realtors’ Profile page.
The new ‘Find Realtors’ Profile pages are free to agents and brokers and empower them to share their professional information, details on their company, information on the areas they serve, specializations, current listings, links to their company website, open houses, contact information, headshot photo, and more with prospective clients. A new field allows users and offices to include links to Facebook Fan Pages, Twitter and other social networking sites with the added benefit of sharing their profiles with a friend, or printing the agent’s profile for later access.
For more information, visit www.Move.com or www.Realtor.com.
