Tuesday, April 28, 2009

The Virtual Buyer...

We've heard it forever, the web is king when it comes to any kind of search--especially real estate. If the numbers are correct, and I don't suspect that they are far off, then over 87% of folks looking to purchase real estate begin on the web.

As an agent that has been in the business full-time going on 10 years, I have had to shift my marketing significantly to capture those buyers who are out there looking in the vast expanse of web-based real estate. All real estate is also local, which means that marrying these two premised of the "world wide web" along with a local, FULL TIME agent with local market knowledge can result in a productive real estate experience for both buyers and sellers.

I love that Allen Tate has embraced this notion and given its agents something that no other company in our area has--virtual mapping with a boat-load of awesome features! It is addicting! According to John Scott of John Scott real estate, in his recent article The Virtual Tilt, real estate mapping a raw form has been around for about 5 years. The premise was to allow buyers to see all homes in a certain price range and area.

My how times have changed! From this simple approach you can now visit www.AllenTate.com and do the following:

*Zoom to a regional area and focus on specific price ranges, neighborhoods, bedrooms/baths, etc.

*The mapping includes ALL real estate listings on MLS--not just Tate listings-so it really is "one stop shopping"

*Less granular search criteria--you've all seen it--its so pixilated you can't tell if its your home or your neighbors

*Point of Interest Searching--search areas within a certain distance of a school, friend or family member's home or work, etc.

*School links and links to websites

*Tate office locations

*Three Views Available--Road View, Aerial and Bird's Eye

*Coming Soon! You will be able to save favorite properties

With Internet tools like these, searching in NC and SC is easy! The hardest part is finding a full-time, competent agent who brings confidence and knowledge to the transaction--I sincerely hope that you can find that in me should you have real estate needs or know someone who does! :)

So visit my website www.BrookeCashion.com or www.AllenTate.com to begin using these tools and many more TODAY! Happy Shopping!

Brooke

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