We're reviewing the usability of a free generic version of our IDX search tools located at www.nwrealty.com/washington prior to official release later this week.  Due to the increase of Buyers seeking owner terms we've included easy access to listings that offer "Lease/Purchase" and "Owner Financing" options.  These are provided via buttons at the top right and how we should display results is where I would appreciate your input.

Right now the results are limited to 200 listings which are currently sorted by list price (high to low).  About half of the available listings are in excess of $1 million.  Since few Buyers are interested in this high price range I'm wondering how to best provide useful information in this free format. 

I'm inclined to only display the 200 most recent listings below $1 million and sorted from low to high.  I really appreciate your feedback.

Thanks,
Larry

Spring 2008 update of traffic trends for Washington real estate web sites as observed by third party monitors at compete.com.  So far this season most sites received about the same number of visits as this time last year.  We are VERY pleased that our growth continued to improve in April when others experienced a significant drop.

Washington Only Real Estate Sites:
This data does a good jog of demonstrating the seasonal "post holiday" spike that occurs every January ... followed by a short slump in February before the spring season gets going in late March.

My Crystal Ball:
Compete.com provides about 4 weeks of relative growth data for the month of May.  Based on this information it looks like the CB Bain site and our site at www.nwrealty.com will both realize growth compared to the previous month of April.  The other sites look like they will hold at about the same rate of vistors.

Reports for May should be available in a couple weeks.  Thanks for stopping by!

My last web trend report was posted in January so this post reflects the end of our winter season and the beginning of the spring buying season.  The websites below are for companies based in Washington that also cross the border into other states (mostly in the western states).  You'll recognize the names and know that they have very substantial Internet marketing budgets.

Multi-State Sites:
Even with the mortgage meltdown and decline in sales most sites finished the month of April very near their traffic levels a year ago.  

My Crystal Ball:
Since the month of May is nearly over there are several weeks of data available at compete.com that reflects relative growth for the month.  Today it looks like Redfin and Brio Realty will finish the month with a nice increase of visitors compared with last month.  The other sites will probably hold steady, near the number of visitors they had in April.

Thanks for stopping by!  May's reports will be available in a few weeks and we'll see if my predictions are correct.  Let me know if you're interested in data for national sites.

Although the frequency of buyer leads remained the same as during the Thanksgiving - Chrismas holiday period, total exposure reflected the traditional New Year spike.  This seasonal surge of activity usually lasts well into February.

Listing agents and brokers continue to benefit the most from our marketing system.  Since December 18th 2007 we've delivered the following results to our Network Members ...

• Lead Generation:
  On average each member real estate agent/brokerage received 3 leads (same as last month) with brokers and agents in South King County and Pierce County receiving an above average number.
   
• Web Site Visitor Referrals: 
  On average we referred 11 visitors (up from 9 last month) to each member's real estate website.  The rate of visitor "click-thrus" was noticably higher for our network members in the San Juan Islands and Okanogan County seemed to receive a slightly higher performance.
   
• Personal/Brokerage Promotion: 
  Each member's promotional image (photo or logo) was displayed an average of 1458 times (up from 1010 last month).  Our best results were provided to our members in the Seattle and Tacoma markets.  Our true "Buyer's Agents" (no listings) received 375 instances of personal promotion (down from 884 last month).
   
• Listing Features: 
  Each member's real estate listings were promoted in the premium "top center" and "left margin" positions an average of 5316 times (up from 3853 last month).  Our strongest results were provided to members serving Seattle, Gig Harbor and Oak Harbor.

Please contact us at 253-927-2229 if these benefits are of interest to you (Washington licensees only).  Pricing begins at $39/month.

This report represents our mid-January update compared with numbers from our mid-December update of our highest demand real estate markets in Washington State.  These are the markets where we feature the most listings and rankings are impacted by where the most buyers are currently looking for on-line real estate information.

Top Ten Washington Counties ...
Buyer attention continues to returned to the Seattle Metro, of Pierce, Snohomish and King County urban areas. 

 Top 50 Washington Cities ...

We'll update this again in February.  When winter gets you down just remember that Catchers and Pitchers (baseball) report just after Valentine's Day.

This report compares websites for companies based in Washington that also cross the border into other states (mostly in the western states).

Multi-State Sites:
Most sites reflect the traditional holiday drop off that occurs seasonally every year.  redfin.com was able to pick up a gain in traffic while most other sites decreased by 13% - 26% compared with November counts.

Thanks for stopping by!  We'll have January reports in a few weeks.

Update of traffic trends for Washington real estate web sites as observed by third party monitors at compete.com.  For the month of December, most sites display a drop of between 13% and 26%.

Washington Only Real Estate Sites:
The decline of traffic for the larger sites reflects the traditional holiday slump.  It is a pleasant surprise to see the smaller sites experienced an increase of traffic traffic.

Reports for January should be available in a couple weeks.  Thanks for stopping by!

Leads and exposure dropped slightly due to the post-Thanksgiving and Christmas shopping diversions.  We anticipate the seasonal spike to begin on 12/26 and last into early February.

Agents and brokers with listings continue to benefit the greatest from our system.  Between November 15th and December 16th 2007, we've delivered the following benefits to our Network Members ...

• Lead Generation:
  On average each member real estate agent/brokerage received 3 leads with brokers and agents in Tacoma and Pierce County receiving an above average number.
   
• Web Site Visitor Referrals: 
  On average we referred 9 visitors to each member's real estate website.  Visitor "click-thrus" remained consistent across all market areas but our network members in the San Juan Islands and Aberdeen seemed to receive a slightly higher performance.
   
• Personal/Brokerage Promotion: 
  Each member's promotional image (photo or logo) was displayed an average of 1010 times.  Our best results were provided to our members in the Seattle, King County markets.  Our single "Buyer's Agent" received 884 instances of personal promotion.
   
• Listing Features: 
  Each member's real estate listings were promoted in the premium "top center" and "left margin" positions an average of 3853 times.  Our strongest results were provided to members serving King County. 

Please contact us at 253-927-2229 if these benefits are of interest to you (Washington licensees only).  Pricing begins at $39/month with REALTORS receiving a 25% discount and qualifying link partners receiving a 25% discount.

This report represents our early December update compared with numbers from our late November update of our highest demand real estate markets in Washington State.  These are the markets where we feature the most listings and also where the most buyers are currently looking for on-line real estate information.

Top Ten Washington Counties ...
Buyer attention continues to returned to the Seattle Metro, of Pierce, Snohomish and King County urban areas. 

 Top 50 Washington Cities ...

We'll update this again in late-December.  Merry Christmas everyone!

This report compares websites for companies based in Washington that also cross the border into other states (mostly in the western states).

Multi-State Sites:
Most sites reflect the seasonal drop that occurs every year during the holidays.  johnlscott.com managed to hold rather steady while briorealty.com actually increased their rate of visitors.

Thanks for stopping by!