Category Archives: Technology
Trulia Enters the Cluttered and Confusing Home Valuation Arena
With one more entry into the (automated) home valuation arena, how does one make sense of all the methods of valuing a home in this market?
There are at least six methods of home valuation out there right now; I know that my customers and clients are going to use the ones that they find; my challenge in advising them is to put these valuations in context and either demonstrate their respective accuracies or most likely, prove just how wrong they are. And why.
- Trulia’s Estimates – (automated) – “Trulia has jumped into the home value game.” Now that they’re here, so what? While the Trulia Estimate are only in San Francisco right now, presumably they’ll be making their way nation-wide.
Communicating. With Clients
I’m texting a lot more, texting clients before calling to ensure they have time, Skyping much more frequently, texting via Google Voice ( because I can text from the browser ). I learn a lot by observing my daughter and her friends; there is no technological communication besides Facebook, texting and the occasional phone call. … All of these varied and important communication methods lead to at least one consequence – I need to be able to store and search all forms of communication. … So now I’m testing Greplin * – “The Search Bar for your Life” – a tool/service/program/I’m not sure what things are called anymore so I’ll go with “solution” … if they could integrate searching texts and Google Voice, my tech communication search life would be complete. Continue reading
More Fiber in Charlottesville – Fiberlight
(Charlottesville, VA) – FiberLight, LLC, one of the nation’s leading providers of mission critical, high performance fiber optic networks, announced today it will feature its newest high capacity fiber optic network, a 46-mile direct connection from Culpeper, VA to Albemarle County and Charlottesville, VA, during a special event on February 3. The new high-count, underground network will use enhanced fiber for lower latency and will provide a direct connection to Culpeper and Washington, D.C., home to FiberLight’s 500+mile multi-ringed, optical network.
The event, which is scheduled from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., Thursday, February 3 at the Omni Hotel in Charlottesville, will feature speakers from FiberLight, the University of Virginia, Charlottesville and Albemarle County. … FiberLight wholly owns its 500,000 fiber-mile network in key growth areas and offers robust metro networks in 21 metros within Georgia, Florida, Washington, D.C., Texas, Virginia and Maryland, as well as Wide Area Networking options at layer 1, 2 and 3 to major commercial hubs throughout the country. Continue reading
If You’re Looking at Zillow to Value homes in the Charlottesville Area
Heck, Greene County’s not even there . Of course, they “only” represented 10% of all homes sales in the Charlottesville MSA last year. 
Median sales price and volume of single family, attached and condo sales for Charlottesville MSA in 2010: 
Note: the less metropolitan/urbanized/populated areas are less accurate. … For now, “But until Zillow gets a lot smarter, I don’t recommend making it a trusted bookmark. ” 
In time of course, they will get better. It’s best not to underestimate those with piles of money and lots of smart people. Thanks to Dan Greene for pointing this out ; I’d seen it a few years ago but forgot all about it. Continue reading
Search for Homes in Charlottesville – This Time, It’s a Beta
I’ve long thought (and most importantly, so have my clients) that Diverse Solutions , the providers of my home search tool, put together the best search for homes tool in the real estate industry.
…• New language in the search box • The map will now update as the criteria changes without the need to click view results • The map now shows properties immediately once a location is specified • Clicking on a city marker now adds it to the locations and shows properties • Added a variety of new design elements • Isolated and moved the Save as Favorite button I know that people want to search for homes without signing up, without being contacted by a Realtor, etc. etc. I don’t spam, I don’t contact without permission (I do send a “thank you for registering” email) and I want you to enjoy using this tool as much as I appreciate your using it and contacting me whenever you’re ready.
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Now, as soon as they release a version that allows for me to provide search results based on radius and polygons, I’ll buy every developer at Diverse Solutions a couple cases of fantastic beer made right here in Central Virginia. Continue reading
Apparently, an iPad Changes Everything (in Real Estate)
For my (potential) seller clients, being able to have a conversation about the listing process with the iPad as the facilitator will be simple and functional. … Now taking recommendations on best apps and practices. ” Within a day, I realized that everything had changed: 
Top 5 Observations: 1 – I’ll be able to leave the Macbook at home.
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For those of you interested, these are some of the first apps I have installed: – Google Mobile – Must have – Box.net – Dropbox – Must have – Evernote – Docusign – Must have – if I could mark up Contracts on this, it would be nearly perfect. … I can’t get morning print delivery where I live, so this makes my annual subscription worthwhile. – NYTimes – BBC – Tweetdeck – Twitter – Friendly Plus (for Facebook) – Flud – Flipboard – CNN – CNBC – Angry Birds – Smurfs – Star Walk Continue reading
Gone Droid – A Step in the Evolution
Following up on my “What’s next in Real Estate Technology” series … 
It’s been five days since I switched and while I miss the simplicity of my Blackberry – it does email and phone calls extremely well – So far I’m happy that I decided to buy the Droid Pro .
…I do a lot of mobile uploads, and the 5 meg camera, while not the 8 meg on the Droid X, is better than the 2 meg on my BB. Qik – I’m going to be testing this soon. (more on this later) Skype is a bit better on the Android, I think. … I know this – visitors to RealCentralVA.com are using mobile devices* – and I’d like to encourage more. 1 – iPhone 2 – iPad 3 – Android 4 – Blackberry 5 – iPod 6 – Samsung * They’re so much more than phones. Continue reading
What’s Next in Real Estate Technology?
This stuff fascinates me because it make for a better search experience for consumers and will eventually trickle its way to the Charlottesville market. (and Nest released a new version of our search , and my Charlottesville home search just got faster) – Lifestyle search – I want to find and live in a neighborhood with other people around my life stage – with kids, near a park, 20 minutes to one spouse’s work, walk to a coffee shop and a library, ride a bike to the other spouse’s work, close to a Trader Joe’s or a Whole Foods, with utilities that are below average in a well-built house, priced lower than the assessed value that is oriented to allow for solar panels, with high speed access, close to the Downtown Mall on a cul-de-sac. – More content creation for and by real estate people – across the spectrum – Geo.
…I want to know what’s happening in the real estate market – what people are searching for, what they’re buying, how many foreclosures are out there, how many people are buying houses with ceramic tile, how many with gray-water systems, how many off-the-grid and more.
…For example: if I put a video up of a property I’m marketing and use my primary youtube account (the easiest way to upload and share video) I can be and will be flagged for “branding” because the consumer can find me via youtube. – MLS – other websites can resize photos. … There is no excuse. – Part One – Real Estate Technology I wanted Five Years Ago is Finally Here – Interactive Floorplans – Part Two – Real Estate Technology I wanted Five Years Ago is Finally Here – Real Estate Video – Part Three – Real Estate Technology I wanted Five Years Ago is Finally Here – Paperless Transactions . – Prologue – What’s Next? Continue reading
