Why Should You Upgrade to IDX 3.0?

In early 2009 RE/Advantage proposed a newly redesigned listing search for Real Estate professionals to utilize on their websites – IDX 3.0. The new IDX solution came with many updated features as well as a new interface.

Take a look at the new IDX 3.0 interface: http://www.prominentproperties.com/idx.cfm

Today home buyers are using the internet more and more to search for the home of their dreams, so why not give your clients a service that allows them to search local listings from your website? RE/Advantage’s IDX solution is the most comprehensive and interactive way to allow your clients to use your professional Real Estate services over the internet. Below are a few new features offered to the valued RE/Advantage IDX customers:

Multiple MLS Search

Unified multiple MLS search capabilities – now multiple MLS searches are integrated into one listing search. Your clients can now use your IDX solution more efficiently.

Listing Compare – you can save and compare multiple listings based on price, location, square footage and many other search criteria fields.

Listing Statistics – you are offered listing statistics based on your search criteria which include average number of beds, baths, median price etc.

Enhanced Photo Gallery

Enhanced Photo Gallery – now bigger and better! Photos are displayed through a vivid sideshow presented right on the listing detail page.

Multiple color styles /custom banner – now the IDX interface is customizable to you!

Enhanced exposure – office listings are displayed first in listing searches.

On the fly search criteria – you can use the drop down menu right on the top of the listings search page to change number of beds, baths, location etc.

Mortgage Calculator – a new feature added to make our IDX solutions more user friendly.

REALTORS® from all over New Jersey to Florida and from New York to California are using our IDX solutions to capture leads and close sales – so why shouldn’t you take advantage of this too!

(If you currently have our IDX 2.0 service you can upgrade for a small set-up fee – with no change to your current monthly service!)

RE/Advantage – As experts in Real Estate web site design, we understand what makes Internet technology work for you and your visitors.  We have been developing real estate web sites, IDX Solutions, Internet tools and marketing strategies since 1997.  No one provides a more comprehensive, well-thought-out site and tool set for your Internet presence.  We provide you with not only the tools to manage and customize your site, but the peace of mind that comes from knowing we are here to help if you need us.

IDX – Do we really need it?

I talk to a lot of REALTORS and in my conversations, the topic of IDX (Internet Data Exchange) or as some call it Broker Reciprocity frequently comes up.  The first question I always seem to get is “Well do I really need it?”.  From my prospective the answer is YES. 

But why do we need to share our listings?

I think the first thing that comes to mind is the fact Agents have been sharing listings for many years already.  The whole spirit of the MLS is cooperation and the foundation is the sharing of listing information so the buyer can have the broadest array of data to make the most informed decision.  The big old book of yester-year has now been replaced by online listing data.  This is the next natural progression of how we share listing information.

With that said, the typical buyer that comes to your website is looking for online listing information and if you are not supplying it, someone else will.

So what does that mean?

Well Generation X and beyond have grown up on the Internet and want to see listing data at their finger tips. 

Take Website A – Lets say this Agent’s website is in New Jersey.  We’ll call him John.  Now John is a hard worker and has 3 active listings in Oradell and the surrounding towns.  His office has 10 more on top of that.  Now Sally was surfing the Internet and found John’s site.  She is looking for a home in Oradell and John has 1 of this own and 2 from the office.  So Sally has 3 to choose from.  Now mind you, there is actually 35 active listings in Oradell right now.  Being an typical Internet user Sally wants her information online and she wants is NOW.  How do we know that?

…73% of home buyers used the Internet as an information source

…74%of Internet home buyers drove by or viewed a home they saw online

…23%of Internet home buyers found their agent online

…24% of buyers first found their home on the Internet

…22%of FSBOs used the Internet to help sell their home

**Source: realtor.org

So because Sally knows she can find more listings elsewhere she will probably click back to google and look at the next website. 

Now if John had IDX on his website he would have been displaying all 35 active listings, the same amount of listings at REALTOR.com for example.

What compounds this is when someone finds him and searches his site for a listing out of his marketing area (like maybe 15 miles away in the Northern part of the county).  In this case he might have zero results while an IDX search might yield 50 or more results.

I think you are getting the picture here, right? 

Now don’t think that IDX brings you leads, all IDX does is help you retain them.  You still need to do your marketing and have a well maintained website.

The typical IDX add-on costs from free to a high price of around $40 per month.  So for a high of $420 per year it is an overall small investment in your marketing budget.  One referral in a year can fuel an IDX investment, think about what one sale does.

Any good website today can benefit from IDX listings from both a “perspective new lead” benefit as well as using it as a client retention tool.

So if your MLS offers this type of solution, give it a try.  Don’t know how to get started, click here, to view our IDX solution and how to deploy it on your website.

IDX – Make those Internet Remarks Count

I cannot tell you how many times when I look over some IDX (Internet Data Exchange) listings I see very poorly constructed Internet remarks/property descriptions.  Some people use all caps, some people abbreviate the entire passage so much it looks like one of my daughters text messages and others just plain mis-spell or poorly construct their grammar.

Today’s home buyers are Internet savvy.  Poorly posted listings are not only a bad reflection on your professionalism but will reflect poorly on your prospects over Internet experience.

I read a post where someone was claiming how poorly constructed IDX data was and how it poorly reflects on the participants website in such a bad way that IDX itself was a bad investment.  Well, good point, about the poorly constructed part but I would not even for one second think having the MLS data on your website could EVER be bad.

However the point taken that these poor remarks are a reflection of the listing agent and the IDX participant is well noted.

Bringing all this data to the Internet is fantastic but with it comes some common sense responsibility from the listing Agent.  The data is only as good as the people who enter it.  If everyone practiced these poor habits IDX woulds become worthless.

So the moral to this post is proof-read your work and construct your descriptions clearly and take some time to make them well thought out.