Zillow.com recently allowed homeowners and real estate agents to advertise for-sale properties on its Web site at no cost. The Seattle-based company, which rocked the real estate world this year when it began offering free online valuations of almost 70 million U.S. homes, made the announcement last week. It also announced a feature called “Make Me Move” for owners who’d consider selling if the price were right. If it catches on, this could create a shadow “for sale by owner” market with the potential to bypass formally listing homes or paying agent commissions, which are already under pressure.

Homeowners adding “for sale” or “Make Me Move” data can upload photos, neighborhood commentary and enhanced descriptions of the property, potentially justifying a price higher than Zillow’s estimate, or “Zestimate.” Real estate agents can add contact information and link to their own Web sites for free. For an industry that’s long sought to control for-sale information, “it’s a pretty radical approach, although it also seems obvious in a way,” said Brad Inman, founder of the real estate news service Inman News. Historically, Inman says, online real estate companies have sought permission from multiple-listing services or real estate companies to display listings. Now, Inman predicts, “agents will jump at the chance, particularly in this market,” to bypass that step. It’s already happening on other sites, such as craigslist, which allows posts of for-sale properties, complete with photos.

Looking for a condo in Atlantic Grove? Realtor® Caesar Parisi is ready to help you buy your dream property.

click here for article

search for : , ,