Lowell Deeds

In a past life I sold real estate… in those days the Multiple Listing Service was the Holy Grail of the business. Real Estate office managers taught agents to never, never give out an address to a phone inquiry about a property…rather, politely nudge the customer into making an appointment to see the property. Wow, have things changed since those days. Today the Internet gushes information out about every topic imaginable…including real estate. Sunday the New York Times ran an article about a couple that found their dream home by surfing the web. “Increasingly, virtual shopping especially during the early stages of looking for a home, is a major component in the real estate business. Buyers, sellers and agents are using social networking sites like YouTube and Facebook, online classifieds like Criagslist and enhanced real estate sites like Listingbook”. Agents are using the Internet and electronic devises like the Blackberry and iPhone to provide pictures, listing information, comparables and more to potential buyers. Of course, the MLS still exists and probably will for a long time, but today the name of the game in real estate is getting as much information to buyers as quickly as possible and in as many ways as possible. This I am sure is only the beginning.