Old tricks combine with new technology in today's competitive real estate climate

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Old tricks combine with new technology in today's competitive real estate climate

ORLANDO, Fla. – Nov. 6, 2006 – Rhonda Morgan has pulled out all the stops for her recent open houses: big signs, balloons and people in costumes out by the street waving to passers-by. The Orlando Realtor bakes cookies in the listed homes and sometimes serves wine and cheese.

But Morgan, who was a computer-systems administrator before switching careers a year ago, spends most of her time selling real estate on the Internet: doing research, updating electronic listings and interviewing prospective customers.

"I probably spend 70 percent of my time on my computer," Morgan, 41, said.

As the nation's housing market comes off a five-year boom, real-estate agents here and elsewhere are resorting to all the usual tricks of the trade to encourage home sales.

This time around, however, technology – specifically, the Internet – is changing, in fundamental ways, the nature of the process.

Although there may always be sign-waving clowns and cookies baking in the oven, the Internet is playing a bigger role in how the industry interacts with clients and prospective home buyers.

Coldwell Banker Real Estate Corp., for example, parent company of Florida's largest residential real estate agency, recently launched an online service that allows potential customers to receive personalized listings and daily mortgage updates.

The company also allows would-be home buyers to type questions on its Florida-specific Web site, floridamoves.com, which automatically generates voice mails for a quick response from a nearby agent.

Online searches take off

The Realtors' Multiple Listing Service, once a closely guarded list of homes for sale by professionals, is now more widely available at many Web sites. And new online services launch almost weekly.

The National Association of Realtors estimates that three of every four home buyers now use the Internet to search for a house; every month, about 16 million people browse the group's property listings online.

Almost eight of every 10 real-estate firms have a Web site, half of which have been up and running for more than five years.

"We're moving down the Internet highway, and now we're moving a lot faster," said Houston Briggs, an independent agent near Kissimmee who buys and sells rental properties and teaches real estate at Valencia Community College.

"It's just so much easier to do research now, particularly in public records," Briggs said.

Many real estate Web sites also map the location of listed homes, calculate monthly mortgage payments, post local school ratings, provide "virtual tours" and serve up photos from ground level to bird's-eye.

Realtors say the shift to the Internet is both intimidating and empowering.

The transition favors agents who are nimble and tech-savvy; it also extends the marketing reach of individuals and small agencies, putting them on a more even footing with larger competitors.

"My background in technology has given me an upper hand," said Morgan, who switched to real estate last year just as Orlando's existing-home market began retreating from record heights.

Morgan promotes her listings on three Web sites: her own; one for the small Orlando real-estate firm she works for, Exit Real Estate Results; and the nationally known Realtor.com.

Morgan pays a premium of about $800 a year for extra bells and whistles on Realtor.com, allowing her to display multiple photos, a scrolling marquee and yellow highlights.