Screen shot of VHT Studios interactive floor plan. Most @properties listings will feature interactive floor plans

Most @properties listings will feature interactive floor plans

Real estate brokerage @properties will use interactive floor plans and high-resolution photos to market listings online at no additional charge to sellers on all homes listed at $500,000 or more. The Chicago-based brokerage said it plans to extend th...
By Inman News | 20 hours ago
Tumblr Tumblr acquisition may validate blogging site for business pros

Tumblr acquisition may validate blogging site for business pros

On its “10 a.m. Special” Tumblr page, The Corcoran Group showcases one jaw-dropping listing every day. The posts are bursting with a colorful mixture of new media that includes clickable photos and graphics, embedded videos and invitation...
By Teke Wiggin | 23 hours ago
Detail from map-based search results on Redfin.com using map data from Google. Are maps obliterating your visual branding efforts?

Are maps obliterating your visual branding efforts?

Maps and real estate websites seem to go hand in hand. It only makes sense, I suppose. Everyone wants to know where the house is, what the neighborhood is like, how far it is from stuff, and so on. A ......
By Gahlord Dewald | Wednesday, May 22, 2013
Seller financing image via Shutterstock. Seller financing: an untapped resource for real estate agents

Seller financing: an untapped resource for real estate agents

While the residential real estate market is generally believed to be improving nationwide, some of the residual effects of the Great Recession still affect the ability of real estate agents to facilitate home sales. Emerging employment opportunities ...
By Jenifer Walton | Wednesday, May 22, 2013
realtors_insurance_marketplace NAR to help members meet ‘Obamacare’ health care mandate

NAR to help members meet ‘Obamacare’ health care mandate

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act — “Obamacare” — mandates that all Americans have health insurance or pay a penalty starting next year. Recognizing that many Realtors, as independent contractors and small-busines...
By Inman News | Tuesday, May 21, 2013
Idaho image via Shutterstock. Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate gains foothold in Idaho

Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate gains foothold in Idaho

Realogy Holdings Corp. franchisor Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate is expanding into Idaho with the addition of brokerage 43° North Real Estate to its franchise network. The Boise-based brokerage company is now doing business as Better Homes and...
By Inman News | Tuesday, May 21, 2013
Screen shot of homes.gcar.net home page. Chattanooga Realtors launch new public-facing MLS site

Chattanooga Realtors launch new public-facing MLS site

The Greater Chattanooga Association of Realtors has launched a consumer-facing residential property search website with tools designed to help local Realtors in southeast Tennessee and northwest Georgia compete with national portals. GCAR’s ...
By Inman News | Tuesday, May 21, 2013
Screen shot of kunversion.com home page. CRM vets back in the game with Kunversion

CRM vets back in the game with Kunversion

Lead generation and customer relationship management (CRM) platform Kunversion LLC has rolled out a new user dashboard that’s mobile-optimized, integrated with Google Apps, and interacts with leads via text, email and chat before a user has to ...
By Paul Hagey | Tuesday, May 21, 2013
Head shots image via Shutterstock. Commission Pitch now furnishing agent metrics to consumers

Commission Pitch now furnishing agent metrics to consumers

A Toronto-based startup is offering to help buyers and sellers in Ontario choose a real estate agent by furnishing metrics about agents’ prior transactions, including statistics on the number of homes sold, average days on market, average sales...
By Inman News | Tuesday, May 21, 2013
Florida condos image via Shutterstock. FHA policy shift leaves many condos ineligible for financing

FHA policy shift leaves many condos ineligible for financing

Is FHA intentionally targeting condominiums, trying to exclude hundreds or thousands of them around the country from qualifying for financing under its mortgage insurance program? FHA officials tell me absolutely not. But an abrupt new “no-toleranc...
By Ken Harney | Tuesday, May 21, 2013
market_leader_3 Market Leader makes CRM tools available to mobile users

Market Leader makes CRM tools available to mobile users

Market Leader Inc. is making some capabilities of the Market Leader Professional and Business Suite available to users of smartphones, tablets and other mobile devices. Market Leader Mobile, which will be offered at no additional cost to customers, &...
By Inman News | Tuesday, May 21, 2013
imprev_dropbox Imprev integrates Dropbox into marketing platform

Imprev integrates Dropbox into marketing platform

Imprev Inc., the Bellevue, Wash.-based developer of marketing tools for real estate brokers and agents, has integrated Dropbox into its marketing platform. Imprev’s Marketing Center is a mobile-optimized platform with single-property websites, ...
By Paul Hagey | Monday, May 20, 2013
Left behind image via Shutterstock. Update your marketing, or get left behind

Update your marketing, or get left behind

You update your clothing and your technology, but have you updated your marketing? If you’re still using the same old outdated tactics from five, 10 or even 20 years ago, it’s time to freshen up those old approaches with a ......
By Bernice Ross | Monday, May 20, 2013
Screenshot of infographic released by NAHREP NAHREP: Immigration reform would boost housing

NAHREP: Immigration reform would boost housing

Proposed immigration reform could pump more than half a trillion dollars into the U.S. economy by paving the way for about 3 million Hispanics to buy homes over a five-year period, according to an estimate released by the National Association ......
By Teke Wiggin | Monday, May 20, 2013