A representative from Realtor.com called me to announce that Realtor.com had redesigned its web site, which I already knew because I read Inman News and receive daily Google alerts. Curious to check it out and view it from a consumer's perspective, I popped over to Realtor.com this morning.
Wow, the site is beautiful. It's supposed to offer easy navigation and enrich the personal search experience. From all appearances, it is a vast improvement. For one thing, the top of the page has a search box, which lets users look for homes in a certain ZIP code or neighborhood. I entered 95818, which is the ZIP for homes in Land Park and Curtis Park. I waited about 30 seconds and then received a message that said, "Oops, a glitch," and suggested I try my back button.
Finally, the page loaded. Below the search box photographs of listings began to appear. Some never materialized and were represented by a question mark, but others loaded with dates of May and August. You'd think that the designers of this site would want newer listings to populate that position, wouldn't you?
I clicked the search button and after several minutes, the first page of homes appeared. Hmm . . . I wondered if I could find any of my listings in Land Park. I clicked the next page, waited a few minutes and received a message saying Safari could not produce the page because Realtor.com's server was not responding. At this point, I gave up.
I'm confident that in time Realtor.com will work out the kinks and the bugs. Or maybe the site doesn't work well with Safari and requires Firefox?
In the meanwhile, if you're looking for homes in Land Park or Curtis Park, I suggest you go to my web site at Elizabeth Weintraub.com to search for them. You can customize your search and even look street by street. It updates every 15 minutes.
Photo: Elizabeth Weintraub
The Short Sale, by Elizabeth Weintraub, coming from Archer Ellison in January 2009.
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Certified HAFA Specialist
My Sacramento Real Estate Listings
Elizabeth Weintraub is an author, home buying columnist for The New York Times-owned About.com, a Land Park resident, and a Land Park real estate agent who specializes in older, classic homes in Land Park, Curtis Park, Midtown and East Sacramento. Weintraub is also a Sacramento Short Sale agent who lists and successfully sells short sales throughout the four-county Sacramento area. Call Elizabeth Weintraub at 916.233.6759. Put 35 years of real estate experience to work for you. Broker-Associate at Lyon Real Estate. DRE License # 00697006.
The Short Sale Savior, by Elizabeth Weintraub, available at Amazon.com.
Lyon Real Estate is not associated with the government, and our service is not approved by the government or your lender. Even if you accept this offer and use our service, your lender may not agree to change your loan.
Photo: Unless otherwise noted in this blog, the photo is copyrighted by Big Stock Photo and used with permission.
The views expressed herein are Weintraub's personal views and do not reflect the views of Lyon Real Estate.
Disclaimer: If this post contains a listing, information is deemed reliable as of the date it was written. After that date, the listing may be sold, listed by another brokerage, canceled, pending or taken temporarily off the market, and the price could change without notice. It could blow up, explode or vanish. To find out the present status of any listing, please go to elizabethweintraub.com.
Obviously ElizabethWeintraub.com is a far superior tool to use that Realtor.com. I would expect nothing less. Good Job!
Elizabeth - I, too, think that Realtor.com will soon get the bugs out. I'm going to check it out... :)
Soon? why would NAR hurry as its been like that since inception. Use MLS.
Elizabeth- I wonder how many people actually use that site to search for homes. None of my clients have ever mentioned looking there at all. I know that they site statistics showing most people look there. Yet, I wonder just how many really do use it as a search tool?
I think the locally focused sites for the areas buyers are looking in are the way to go. With the technology so affordable to agents and small offices it is most certainly the way I am working.
Best,
Scott
Elizabeth, it makes no sense to me that they would release it with so many bugs. What was the rush? It's frustrating... C.
Thanks for your support, Fred.
Hi Debi: I hope it works better for you. All new programs seem to have glitches.
Hi JG: Realtor.com has improved the site; it's just the functionality that is a bit skewed right now. I think they are moving in the right direction.
Hi Scott: Every so often I get a call from a buyer who found my listing on Realtor.com. But then I use the enhanced thingie, the showcase, so maybe my listings stand out a bit above the rest.
Hi C: There's always a rush, it seems, to roll out new technology. Isn't it the Microsoft American way?
Elizabeth
It has been awhile since I checked out Realtor.com. I will have to go to my website an do that.
Sincerely
Tom Braatz
Hi Elizabeth- what's with the computer world today? first Yahoo changes it's whole home page last night, then AR is acting up with this listing router conversion, now Realtor.com? Guess I'll have to go check it out, see if my listngs are still there.
Guess I'll go check it out since you've reminded me. I pay a lot for enhanced and featured listings.
Hi Tom: Good luck. Hope you get better results.
Hi Linda: I went back again to see if it was was working correctly: We're Sorry
There’s been a slight glitch. Give us just a moment and try your search again!
Hi Barbara: My listings look OK. Once I was able to access them.
I've been there now. It is a definite improvement. They've fixed the pictures so that they enlarge nicely. My only objection was that the back button didn't get you out of some places. I had to go back to realtor.com from the address in order to search further.
Hi Barbara: I know -- when I clicked the back button I got the OOPS error. I'll try it again in a few days. We need to know that our consumers are enjoying a positive experience, especially when we are paying extra for that.
Elizabeth....I've neve been impressed with Realtor.com....even when I first became a Realtor and paid $1,000 a year....I think for the upgraded listings option. My office offers it to me free....but I don't seem to find the time....to work on it.....it's on my "to do" list....but rather far down on the list.
I keep thinking they will improve it to the point it is worth the fees they charge. So far I have survived with out them.
Hi Jeanean: I get the showcase options for free from my company as well. The problem I have with it is (and maybe this changed with the new redesign) it takes Realtor.com 48 hours to upload the enhancements, so I sometimes forget about it.
Hi Terry: A few of my buyers have come from Realtor.com, but most people in Sacramento know that a local agent's web site is going to provide them with up-to-date results directly from MLS, and that's what they want.