Reinventing Real Estate: New methods for getting properties known

New technology

In residential real estate, Springfield’s Multilist shows more than 5,400 single-family homes currently for sale, according to the Greater Springfield Board of Realtors. Historical comparison data isn’t available through the MLS system, according to GSBOR President Scott Rose, a Realtor with Murney Associates.

Nationally, inventory totals in October were more than 4.4 million homes, according to the National Association of Realtors. That’s a 10.8-month supply; a six-month supply is considered a balance between the needs of buyers and sellers.

For some residential Realtors, more technology is coming into play.

Stacey Clem, a Realtor with Coldwell Banker Vanguard Realtors, is using elevated photography to make her listings unique from others in the area.

“It was definitely something different that I hadn’t seen any other Realtor use,” Clem said of Mast-R-Pix, the company that uses a van-mounted, 60-foot retractable mast to take aerial shots of her properties. “I was trying to get my listings to stand out on the various Web sites I use and (on) the Multilist service.”

Mast-R-Pix co-owner Stacie Edwards said the unique topography of the Ozarks makes the ability to see those high-angle views more important.

“We have such beautiful panoramic views in this area – some people have 20-mile views,” said Edwards, whose company is also an affiliate member of GSBOR and Tri-Lakes Board of Realtors. “But you can’t really see them unless you get above the house and behind it to show that view.”

Murney Associates Realtor Barbara O’Riley uses Mast-R-Pix for several of her properties, including a 7,200-square-foot home on the market in Willard.

“Most people take a photograph from the road, so you only get a frontal view,” she said.

“Elevated photography gives a more three-dimensional look, and it also includes more of the landscaping and the surrounding land. When you see the (aerial) photographs, there’s no comparison.”

Realtors Roger and Sharon Wasson, meanwhile, have turned their listing technology into its own business. The couple shifted its focus from representing buyers and sellers as agents at Murney to start 360 Ozarks Virtual Tour Co., providing virtual tours for other real estate agents’ online listings.

Sharon Wasson said the idea grew from work she had done for Ethel Curbow of Coldwell Banker Vanguard.

“She’s a big listing agent, and other agents saw the virtual tours and started calling,” Wasson said. “I started doing some work for some other agents, and then I realized maybe I should start my own company.”

Wasson said the virtual tour idea first gained popularity with local agents in 2000.

Curbow, a 27-year veteran of the local real estate business, said she’s been using virtual tours on her Web listings for more than four years.

“I think a lot of people don’t even call to see a house unless they’ve seen it on the Internet,” Curbow said. “While the pictures are nice, the virtual tour enhances the listing and gives them more perspective on it.”

Wasson agreed, adding that the Internet is even more important now that buyers and sellers are becoming more tech-savvy.

“If you don’t have Internet expertise, sellers will look for somebody who does,” Wasson said.

Information sharing

Commercial real estate agents also are using different methods to share information about their properties.

Sperry Van Ness/Rankin Co. hosted a Nov. 14 forum for local commercial real estate agents to show off properties to other agents.

The forum was open to commercial real estate brokers.

About 60 brokers were in attendance, with 29 participating as presenters. Each presenter was able to give a PowerPoint presentation about one property worth more than $1 million to the other agents in attendance.

There was no fee for presenting at the event, which according to Sperry Van Ness/Rankin owner Tom Rankin is similar to forums Sperry Van Ness has held in all of its markets.

“The more exposure we can give to our clients’ property, and they can give to theirs, the more likely we are to sell the property,” Rankin said.

“It really wasn’t about us sponsoring it and making it happen – we did it for the benefit of everybody, so there’s greater exposure for everyone’s property,” he added.

Ken Schwab, who attended the event on behalf of his Wilhoit Properties, said that while commercial agents regularly share information about their available properties, the event was a good opportunity to showcase particular property.

“We share information between all the commercial real estate brokerage firms in town weekly,” said Schwab, who presented information about the $2.7 million Airport Plaza at West Bypass and Kearney Street. “But this was an opportunity to showcase one particular property.”

Rankin said the quarterly event – with the next planned for March 19 – also acts as a way to break down barriers between brokers.

“It was nice to see all the commercial brokers in the same room,” he said. “I’ve been here 20 years, and that’s never happened before.”

The Real Estate Book expands to Branson

Branson-area Realtors, meanwhile, now have a new venue for their home listings.

Columbia-based Maximum Media Inc., which publishes The Real Estate Book in the Columbia and Springfield markets, launched a Real Estate Book specifically for the Branson and tri-lakes area in August.

Maximum Media President Anthony Holmes said the book, a franchise of Atlanta-based Network Communications, gives Realtors multiple new avenues to attract potential homebuyers because of its agreements to share information with other Web sites, such as Google and Yahoo! Classifieds.

“One of the important parts of the process is whether the information is being forwarded to other venues,” Holmes said. “We do it through 24 other companies – we forward our content under contract to develop 24 additional hooks for those homes through those other Web sites.”

In markets such as Branson, where home inventory levels are high, Holmes said Realtors tend to be more careful with spending, so multiple exposures are important. Holmes said listings in The Real Estate Book cost between $300 and $450.