OAK BROOK, Ill. & COLUMBUS, Ohio--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Real Living, one of the nation’s most innovative national real estate franchisors, today announced that it has launched a bold new technology initiative, Web strategy and online platform for brokers and agents. Central to the strategy, Real Living also announced it has launched an all new national site, http://www.realliving.com, that now gives home buyers and sellers more search options while also providing the latest in mapping technology and rich community information for greater context and a better overall search experience.
As part of its Web strategy, all of the features found in the national www.RealLiving.com site extend across the entire platform to power local websites that are provided to all Real Living brokers and agents.
Some of these features include: powerful and flexible listing search options, nationwide community and housing market data, social media integration, interactive marketing tools, and more. The company will be providing ongoing enhancements to its platform, with major new releases occurring quarterly.
“We didn’t just launch a new website: Real Living has taken a totally different approach to our Web strategy,” said Real Living President Harley E. Rouda, Jr. “At the national level, our site’s goal is to attract consumers, then seamlessly drive them to local broker or agent sites as quickly as possible, or first and fast, as we like to say,” Rouda added.
“As simple and straightforward as this sounds, historically national real estate companies have been more concerned about keeping consumers on their national sites as long as possible,” Rouda added. “Through our new technology initiative, Real Living today is taking a bold and exciting step to change that way of thinking by directing home buyers and sellers to our brokers and agents sites that are filled with local listings and content.”
For Consumers
Unlike many real estate sites that emphasize technical features at the expense of customer usability, Real Living’s online presence serves buyers and sellers with a refreshing mix of innovation and practicality, offering:
- A listing search developed for the way people really think about real estate. Real Living makes it easier than ever for buyers to find the homes they want with traditional feature and price search options complemented by intuitive map search options, as well as searches by neighborhood, school area, address and street names. Keyword searches of listing descriptions, niche search pages for property types and new search options emerging based upon user behavior, have also been integrated.
- Rich and deep information on local communities across the nation, with details on area home values, property appreciation, the local economy, environment, quality of life, schools and more, compared to city, county and national figures. Home buyers and sellers will find this key information available on every listing’s page, as well as open for general search and community comparison, to give them real context for each home they are considering.
- More options than ever to openly share listings and content on social networks with friends and family, and to privately share listings, house ratings and commentary with their Real Living sales professional through their own RealLiving.com account.
- Access to listings and more via mobile technology that matches and optimizes the information to display to the smart phone in use.
For Brokers and Agents
Real Living's Internet strategy is to provide a customizable platform for brokers and agents that is continuously being updated while providing consumers with a more consistent online experience since brokers and agents are now using the same platform. Features and benefits of the new platform include:
- A focus on driving consumers, at every opportunity, directly from the national site to a local broker or agent site where they have the opportunity to work with a local real estate professional.
- Each broker and agent is provided a robust website that leverages the same features of the national site, with a local focus.
- A Lead Management Platform that undergoes regular analysis, evolution and improvement. Features include lead notification via cell phone or e-mail, flexible lead-routing options, detailed lead-activity reports for agents and brokers, and enhanced integration with lead incubation and marketing systems.
- Comprehensive E-Marketing – from an automated monthly electronic newsletter with more than 50 pre-built targeted marketing campaigns, to animated home tours, flyers postcards, professional printing and fulfillment. Additionally, the site enables real estate professionals to post and share information on social media sites.
- Real Living Business Center – RealLiving.com integrates its public website with the company’s intranet site to enable brokers and agents to manage leads, develop and maintain their websites, store online files, provide easy access to marketing materials and e-marketing systems.
Real Living’s new technology platform and www.RealLiving.com were developed in conjunction with LPS Real Estate Group (www.LPSREG.com), one of the foremost developers of real estate technology and tools for brokers, agents and consumers.
“We are very pleased with our new technology platform, which is the first of its kind in the real estate industry,” said Matt Kaufman, director of Internet marketing for Real Living. “We’ve worked closely with LPS over the past several months to deliver a robust platform that will continue to grow and evolve, while bringing incredible amounts of community data and mapping technology down to the broker and agent level.”
About Real Living
Real Living is a full-service real estate brokerage franchise company with a comprehensive and integrated suite of resources and services for franchisees and their sales professionals, as well as the consumers who work with them. The Real Living brand and its innovative concepts were recognized as one of the best by Entrepreneur magazine; won the Inman Innovator Award, and was named “The Most Promising New National Brand” by the Swanepoel TRENDS Report. Real Living is an affiliate of Brookfield Residential Property Services, a leading global provider of real estate and relocation services, technology, and knowledge. In 2010, Real Living maintained an industry-leading customer satisfaction rating of 96 percent based upon research by an independent research firm. For more information, visit http://www.realliving.com.
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