Cyberhomes looks to the future for salvation
From Future of Real Estate Marketing
By Joel Burslem, Monday, June 1, 2009.
Like it or not, Cyberhomes just really hasn't caught on like some of its other contemporaries. Technically it's a very competent site and one that I've always thought was definitely under-recognized. But even I'm guilty of forgetting it's out there some days.
Part of the problem may be the disjointed approach it has taken to its product over the years. Cyberhomes has had more home page redesigns than any other site I know, but it may also just be that it has never really found a good niche to corner. Property valuations: Zillow's got them licked. Likewise Trulia with search experience, Realtor.com with depth of listings. And FrontDoor's got them beat editorially.
To date, I hate to say it, there never really was a good reason to go to Cyberhomes (see Inman News).
But they launched a new service last week that might just turn that around.
Called the Market Forecast, Cyberhomes now promises to help you understand where your local market is heading. The report uses Cyberhomes' unique access to its parent Fidelity's data on more than 40 million loans, and layers on top of that all of its property records and other data sources.
So for only $3.99 you can order a 12-month real estate market forecast and housing supply projection, one that includes "delinquency and foreclosure trends, a 12-month value projection and summary information about the subject property."
Brilliant.
I think this could just be the tipping point for a turnaround in Cyberhomes' fortunes. Forget about the past and look to the future (literally). Especially if they can focus 100 percent of their marketing efforts toward branding the site as the destination to go to and get the answers to the two most burning questions today: "Should I sell," and "Should I buy?"
That's their niche.
This could be a winner in my books. Best part is: There is a real revenue model behind this, too. Shocking, I know. But premium reports can be a real moneymaker.
Nevertheless, I suspect Cyberhomes has a very short window to execute on this. The other players can reproduce much of what they've done and will certainly do so if Cyberhomes starts selling lots of these reports.
So, come on Cyberhomes -- there's no time like the present to change the future.
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Submitted by Robert A. Hulme on June 3, 2009 - 4:28am.
There is a lot of competition in a very tough market. Cyberhomes needs to be very aggressive if it hopes to challenge it's competition.
Robert A. Hulme
Realtor, GRI, e-PRO
Utah Select Realty
Loan Officer
Mortgage Xpress
www.StGeorgeRealEstate.us
www.CedarCityRealEstate.ws
Submitted by Bruce Hiatt on June 3, 2009 - 1:56pm.
Cyberhomes trend graphs are not accurate at local market levels. For example, 89109 in Las Vegas contains both old, poor condition single family homes and luxury high rise condos. The Cyberhomes trend graphs cannot make this distinction and distorts the overall trend picture.
Regards,
Bruce Hiatt - Broker/Owner
Luxury Realty Group LLC
Las Vegas, NV
www.LuxuryRealtyGroup.com
www.LuxuryVegasForeclosures.com
Submitted by David Gorman on June 5, 2009 - 3:32am.
A lot of home buyers like to use Zillow, but there is opportunity for someone to provide nationwide MLS, FSBO listings, commercial listings, and comparable settled sales all on one site because we are looking for that website.
David Gorman/Broker
Cashback Realty.com
(Offering real estate rebates to home buyers.)
Submitted by Richard Fisher on June 7, 2009 - 12:12pm.
Cyberhomes is rated at least as accurate as Zillow if not better, as rated by US News. Zillow has a tremendous marketing program for its product, while very few people have heard of Cyberhomes, except maybe the professionals involved in real estate and lending. With what data Cyberhomes has to draw from and the companies it represents, it should be the one everyone remembers not the other guy. Great products or services left in a closet will remain in a closet, while lesser products enjoy success. Cyberhomes is backed by some of best marketing teams in the world, they just have to be turned loose and make Cyberhomes a HOUSEHOLD NAME and not the other guy, whats his name.
Submitted by Reggie Nicolay on June 8, 2009 - 10:18am.
@Richard Fisher: Thank you! You pointed out something that I would like to expand on. In the professional community Cyberhomes has strong brand awareness mainly because real estate agents have been exposed to our data for years through reporting tools, property profiles, Fidelity National Finance title channels, and of course Cyberhomes.com. Also our parent company LPS has also been selling best of breed AVM’s to banks for many years.
As for the consumer market, we’re continually focused on putting out a quality product with accurate data and positive experience. Then when a consumer does find us, statistics say they’ll come back. In May, our average visitor comes back 9-times, which is the higher than any other sites in the top 10 real estate space.
@ Bruce Hiatt I’ll take a look thank you.
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