List of Real Estate Website Technology Providers

Do you have a favorite?

I don't have any 1st hand experience with any of them since I'm not a re pro with a website -- so I can't really say.

I can say that I've heard great things about Ubertor from everyone I've talked to that uses them.

Superlative isn't on your list.

And to be brutally honest, it may be better that way. I used them for a year. Customer service was horrific, and there are *very* fundamental things you can not edit -- some of which are critical to good SEO. (Page titles come immediately to mind).

Over three years ago I told them several themes didn't dispaly well in Firefox. You'd think they would have had plenty of time to address that, but no....

I'll stick with my Point2 Agent site -- fully customizable, superior customer service, constantly pushing the envelope. If you know *nothing* about websites, editing is as easy as using Word. If you know a little HTML, the sky is the limit. They have some very innovative and unique features.

Full disclosure: I am a "preferred vendor" for Point2 Agent. My "side business" specializes in helping people with Point2 sites. But I was a very satisfied customer long before launching that endeavor.

I can't speak to the others, but it took Ubertor's product to motivate me to finally 86 my self-written site. I had been clinging to my former site (for about seven years, I believe), which was hideously ugly and an SEO nightmare solely for the control it gave me. I needed (still need) the ability to update freely and to add/delete/create pages at whim, and the Ubertor site allows this control and flexibility.

While a little code knowledge helps to take full advantage of the features, it is absolutely not necessary. It literally took me one weekend (and a good bottle of chardonnay) to migrate my pages and files over (which are hundreds deep). Love the product and love the cost.

They didn't even pay me for this testimonial although, Steve, I do take tips. :)

Great list - I've used / reviewed at leat three on the list. I'll be adding the balance to my ongoing series of Executive Conversations at www.StevenGroves.com and adding them to my section on online resources for agents.

ah - one more to add... RealtySoft. One I've reviewed and was included in the online tools article from Realtor Magazine

Drew, websites are only part of our real estate platform. Our system is very different from the rest of these on your list. Think platform, not website.

If anyone wants to try it out, you can start yours for free within a matter of minutes.

I work for Homes.com, so I am biased, but we are one of the top companies in the industry. Homes.com provides real estate professionals with full-service web-based marketing solutions including website design, hosting, IDX solutions and search engine optimization.

If you're in the real estate business (as a realtor or broker) and you're looking for fantastic web presence there is no other company that delivers a better product than Ubertor. Google "Vancouver Penthouse for Sale" and my site www.Vancouver-Penthouse.com should be ranked pretty high and the great thing is - ive never paid any 3rd party to do seo ranking. Check them out - ian

Consumers visit real estate sites for 2 primary reasons.
1. To See Listings
2. To Find Out The Value Of Their Homes

If I were evaluating a web site platform, I would gauge it by those that did the best job of delivering these elements.

Of these providers, which provide the feature of a fully integrated IDX feed of listing data from individual MLS'? By fully integrated, I mean at least a once daily update of the MLS listings in my market that offer the ability for me to display the listings as if they are my own and generate leads directly from them. (framed mls listings do not qualify as a true idx feed)

Which providers have built in features either through API's or customizable forms to allow an agent to generate a listing lead from someone interested in a valuation of their property?

Why do you think it is essential every real estate professional have their own website?

Maria-
Since agents are essentially independent contractors and largely in charge of building their own book of business -- I think not having your own web presence online is a mistake. I forget the exact stat, but roughly 80% of buyers are starting their home search online.

Maria wrote: Why do you think it is essential every real estate professional have their own website?

I can't imagine not having a website. It is, by far, the single most cost effective way to market 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

As Drew mentioned, the vast majority of buyers start their home search online (I've heard numbers ranging from 70 - 85%, the last I saw from the NAR said 78%).

We get 95% of our business from our online presence and marketing, and our website and blog account for the bulk of that.

How can an agent in this day and age not have a web presence?

As farming is as old as real estate itself, finding new ways to stand out and become the authority in a neighborhood is becoming more and more difficult. I started farming a building called Electric Avenue in Downtown Vancouver 2 years ago and because of the frequency of flyers sent to the 456 unit complex I developed a bit of a reputation as the local expert. People would call every so often to list their homes or ask for a current market price. Furthermore people would also contact me regarding finding a parking rental or even to rent out their units etc and this is where the community site www.electricAvenue.ca was born. I contacted Ubertor for assistance with the new concept and 2 years later our site is the authority on this building. The key aspects of the site includes current listing, a rental notice board and floor plans. In 2006 we had 11 ends in the Electric Avenue building and we’re on pace to match that number in 2007. Eleven ends at approximately $5500 per end, we grossed over $60,000 for this single website. Not a bad return on a $900 annual website hosting fee.

We have since cloned our system for www.YaletownPark.ca, www.SpectrumCondos.ca and Woodwards-Condos.com which will be complete in 2010 - its never too early to build your site. The greatest thing about building niche sites is that with great success you will have something to sell should you wish to wind down your real estate practice. Finally, and to clear the air, I do have to pay for all 8 of my websites and no, I don’t own even a share of Ubertor, though I wish I did. Please feel free to email me direct to find out more.”

Ian Watt
www.ianwatt.ca

Our service includes domain name registration and real estate web design. Real Estate Designers provides the complete solution includingdesign,application development and marketing.

I work for PropertyMinder.com
Our company provides fully integrated MLS solution, website design and hosting for real estate professionals.

We were a month old when this list was created - http://www.zipvo.com

Drew, great post! Make sure to check out RealtySoft.com, we have one of the most advanced real estate website solutions in the market today. The main difference between our solution and other providers is that our solution is modular, each website consists of multiple gadgets just like http://www.google.com/ig. We are also value providers of the industry, you get a fully functional website equipped with IDX and CMS for $25 per month with no setup fees. Feel free to contact me and I will do a demo for you!

Just want to let everyone know about a great Website Design company.
I was a sceptical because of the price, but boy did they deliver for about
$200 they did the most amazing work for me. I just wanted to pass that along to
you guys.

you can check them out at: http://www.leadsware.com/renovastar/index.html

Drew, can you kindly include MyRealPage.com in your list.

MyRealPage (http://www.myrealpage.com) is a provider of Real Estate Website and Listings Solutions, such as IDX and VOW (Virtual Office Website) in several Canadian and US markets. Our fully revamped product line offers a complete suite of tools to manage your real estate website, give your web visitors useful real estate listing tools, and manage your leads and clients.

MyRealPage website system boasts:
* Widget oriented page composition which enables a non-technically savvy user to fully edit their pages and templates by using drag-and-drop and WISYWIG page editing
* Full edit-publish-recover process for your website which allows you to edit your content in a "staging" area before publishing, and recover your pages through history tracking
* A long array of widgets (weblets), including multiple blogs, RSS news reader, quick search forms, featured listings, testimonials, editable flash banners, and many more...
* Hot-swappable themes which allow you to experiment with your website's look-and-feel and go live when ready
* Fully customizable forms, including entirely custom forms
* Advanced user support, including full CSS access, arbitrary javascript or html mark-up; 3rd party widget friendly (widgetbox, js-kit, etc).
* Much More...

MyRealPage listing IDX and VOW system offers in areas with data feeds:
* Automatic listing maintenance for your and your office listings
* Interactive Google Map search which allows you to draw your area of interest through shapes; including multi-level selectable neighborhood overlays (in some areas); as well as a number of other highly user-friendly search forms
* Predefined searches that can be saved and launched through a URL, as well as predefined search form criteria
* Lead conversion path from anonymous browsing to a VOW member by offering useful listing tools to manage searches and favorites
* Much more...

MyRealPage lead management offers:
* Fully integrated lead manager, service tracker, and webmail
* Outlook Synchronization for your leads and contacts
* Much more...

Done

Hi Drew,

Please add NUMBER1EXPERT.COM to your list of technology partners. We provide website and marketing solutions to the top selling agents in the country.

Thanks!

Patty-
Sorry about that, I just added you to the list.

WhereToLive.com is another player in this field. We focus on larger brokers and franchises interested in providing a large suite of tools to their network of agents along with powerful SEO.

Don't forget your friends at Real Estate Tomato =)

Done

Thanks man!