The days of going from house to house looking for a new home is coming to an end. Real estate websites with pictures, floor plans and videos of homes for sale allow the prospective new home buyer to search from the comfort of your easy chair. House hunting is going digital!
The process of buying or selling a home is stressful. Today’s property websites are making it easier to search for homes and narrow down what you are looking for and even taking over the role of real estate agents.
Traditional Realtors
Real estate agencies now offer photo galleries of homes for sale on their websites. A page is dedicated to a home with pictures of each room and the outside along with detailed descriptions. Some agencies use drones to photograph the property from overhead to give the viewer a look of the property and its surroundings.
Realtors are also using video that provides details of the home and 360 degree views of rooms. Many agencies also post floor plans that provide dimensions of each room.
Do-it-Yourself
There are now websites – virtual real estate agents – for sellers and buyers. Through these websites, prospective buyers can be connected to sellers.
Owners.com, for example, charges a flat $400 fee to a seller, according to USA Today. The home is listed on the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) database. The seller is responsible for setting the selling price and handling showings, negotiations and inspections. Should you need help with any paperwork, Owners.com will provide assistance for an additional fee.
By handling the whole process, sellers can save a bundle on a realtor’s commission, which is usually 6%. If a home sells for $250,000, the realtor would receive about $15,000.
High Tech Real Estate
Property websites are becoming more sophisticated. In the future, these sites will take data from a prospective buyer’s browsing history as well as location preferences such as being near schools or highways. The sites will draw upon databases and use algorithms to determine the type of home and location.
Some websites may also provide beginning-to-end services – from searching for a new home right through the negotiation and transaction process.
Looking for a new home or trying to sell one can be difficult and time consuming. Thanks to today’s high tech world, the process is made a little easier.
