Top 5 Broker Website Trends for 2014

There is a significant gap in the depth of information found on listing portals vs. broker websites today. Aside from marketing acumen and marketing investment, the quality of the experience is simply better on many portal sites.

A few years ago, portals dominated brokerages with map search. As brokers got a handle on that, portals evolved with the single, Googlesque search bar. Most good broker sites have gotten a handle on that now, too. But the bar continues to move in new directions. The biggest gap seems to be the information contained on the listing detail page. I had a chance to review and discuss this gap with some leading brokers this week and take their temperature on how they plan to address the information gap in 2014. The responses were fascinating.

To begin with, there is a legacy rule that is lingering in many MLSs regarding commingling MLS data with other data sources. Most of the progressive MLSs have stricken that rule. To all extents and purposes, the rule only limited brokers from being competitive. With that rule out of the way, brokers are free to augment listing data with the data that consumers yearn for. Here is the top 5 countdown of features brokers plan to integrate into search or the listing detail pages in 2014.

5. Drive Time: 21% of brokers plan to Integrate Drive Time Search - A new company called INRIX peeked into real estate this fall, offering drive time data via API. This company collects commute times from cell phone data at a rate of a trillion bits per second, or some crazy number like that. You have experienced this when you map something in your car's GPS, or on your phone, and it estimates drive time and updates for traffic. Using the INRIX API, consumers or their agents can provide property search results on areas according to drive time. In most metropolitan areas, commute time to school and/or work play a significant role in selecting a neighborhood.