Everyone knows it helps to have friends in the right places. But if you're in the market for real estate and don't know a realtor personally, you can still make like virtual buddies on Facebook (or Twitter!) and get instant access to the latest listings. It turns out realtors everywhere are using social sites to share hot properties.
Findings in REALTOR magazine's 2011 Technology survey revealed that "despite common warnings to not be too promotional on social networks, 48 percent post listings on Facebook."
That's good news for you, house-seeker. Eventually, you'll find it tiring to search Zillow or Trulia day in and day out. But if you add a realtor to your friends list on Facebook or Twitter, you'll have local listings just popping up in your social stream. As a bonus, you might get first dibs on new properties — it's probably much quicker for a busy real estate pro to update Facebook with mobile pictures of a new unit than to update a website.
So how do you get social with the real estate crowd? While you're navigating professional sites, look around for social media links and icons. If the realtor has a professional "fan" page where they share up-to-date listings, they'll link it there. If not, you can always try to search the realtors name and city on Facebook or Twitter; many share listings with their personal networks and won't mind if an interested buyer drops in.
(Image: 1. Illustration, UnitedEducational.com, 2. RealBird Listing Publisher)
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Why not just visit real estate company websites and look at the listings there? Baird and Warner has a very user friendly site and I really recommend it if you are just browsing properties. On this site you can be more discerning than a generic facebook listing regarding price, number of bedrooms, location, etc...
I'm not sure why anyone would want more spam? Just saying...
In Canada realtors usually get their hands on listings about 24h ahead of regular joes, so being friends with an on-point realtor may get you farther than visiting websites or mls.
In Nova Scotia we have an AWESOME website (that I am completely unaffiliated with) called Viewpoint. IT IS AMAZING! You get access to all the real estate data exactly when the realtors do. Plus sales history, tax info etc. etc. When I was house shopping I checked it religiously and pounced on our house, saw it in a day, offered within 24 hours and went to the open house that weekend to watch 30+ families with Lexus SUVs walk through the house we'd already closed on below market value.
We had a great realtor but he obviously had other clients and wasn't able to watch the market 24/7 just for us so I was happy to do the additional legwork myself.
Agreed with Robotropolis - it takes time for Real Estate companies' websites to be populated with new listings, and as a Realtor I find that a property might be in the MLS but not yet on our site, or a property's status (pending, price changes, etc) often isn't accurate on sites like Trulia and Zillow and causes confusion to consumers looking for listings. Having a Realtor contact on social media gives you the chance to have a casual dialogue about an interesting property, without having to go through the process of phone calls or office visits like the 'old days'. Social media certainly doesn't replace the traditional arrangement, but it's a nice way to get real estate information and even 'test out' a Realtor to see if you like they way the communicate and handle customers before you hire them.
Maybe I'm picky but my realtors (and I've had more than a few) never picked a house I was interested in looking at.
To each his own.
With the various realtors I have enlisted to help me buy houses over the years, each and every one of them set up notifications, based on my specifications, that would send any/all listings that meet those specifications directly to my inbox the second they posted on MLS. I guess if you don't have a realtor already, that's not that helpful, but you certainly don't want to pick a realtor based on the house they're listing.
If you are going to use Facebook to find a realtor, do it by asking your friends that have purchased a house about their experiences and if they would recommend their realtor. I have a friend that, quite literally, became a real estate agent last week. I wouldn't trust him to do anything. The agent I used recently had 20+ years of experience, knew the neighborhood inside and out, had a team of talented inspectors that poured over the property, and went toe-to-toe with the bank over the loan. You won't find that agent on Facebook...
About two months ago I joined this thing on Facebook called the Real Estate Agent Directory. It seems to be pretty cool so far. It was free so I decided to try it. I made a profile and someone from my area contacted me about one of my listings on there that they said they saw. Still working with this person now. Picky buyer... but I am glad that they found me on there! I am hoping to spend some more time on my Facebook business and sprucing up my directory profile so that I can pick up some more clients from Facebook!
Better yet, ask someone that you know and trust to recommend a real estate agent that they have used and like. Anyone can use Facebook, but it doesn't mean that the agent they find has any experience or is worth a darn. I know people's dogs that have Facebook pages.
For instance, if you need an agent in Hampton Roads, call Sandy Hughes with Rose & Womble. She has helped us buy 3 houses and sell 2 and is a first class professional.
Just so everyone knows - there is a difference between a "Realtor" and a "real estate agent.". Not all agents are Realtors and vice versa.