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Clients Concerned About Omicron? 4 Digital Tools for Their Home Search
With the Omicron variant fueling record numbers of COVID-19 cases and causing some schools and offices to once again close and go remote, some clients may be more hesitant about in-person home searches. For agents, remaining connected with clients from afar is still important, as we don't know exactly when this moment will pass and coronavirus concerns will recede. One of the best things that agents can do for buyers right now is to give them a digital tool that can keep their home search going. Not only will it help prime buyers for the search experience – e.g. nearby comps, ideal search criteria – but it'll help you better prepare for their needs and wants so you can hit the ground running when they're ready to resume in-person home searching. Here are a few ways that Homesnap can help your buyers keep their home search going, even in the midst of another coronavirus surge: New advanced search filters give your buyers more options Homesnap has more than 30 advanced search filters, which put us on par with the other big players in the world of home search. With more granular search filters, buyers can narrow down the homes that meet their specific search criteria – including: School ratings Stories HOA fees Parking Basement Pool Waterfront View Pet-friendly properties Price reductions Heating and cooling Have your clients set up a saved search on Homesnap with these new filters now, so they can start exploring their target neighborhoods and get a lay of the land. Personalize your search even further with Search By Commute and Draw Your Own Search Your buyers can use Homesnap to compound dozens of filters to find the perfect home to suit their needs, and they can personalize their home search even more using our Search By Commute or Draw Your Own Search features. Search By Commute allows you to enter important commute locations – such as your office and your kids' school – to triangulate homes that fall in your desired commute times. With Draw Your Own Search, you can actually draw your search area by hand. These features provide added filters so you can provide buyers with more tools to find their ideal home. Introduce your clients to Snapping, which has three important benefits One of our consumer-favorite features is the Snapping feature, which allows anyone – agent or consumer – to snap a photo of any home using the Homesnap app and immediately see all the details about it. Snaps are saved in every Homesnap user's profile, so they can reference them later – and they can easily be shared between clients and agents. Snapping is a fun and unique tool to share with your clients, and they can start using it right away. Think of it this way: Even during social distancing, people are still allowed to go outside and get some fresh air. They can walk around the neighborhood for exercise. Why not tell them about Snapping as a way to keep your home search going? They can Snap any property – on-market or off-market – and the benefit is three-fold: You'll get a better sense of the kind of home they like, based on the houses they Snap and send your way. This empowers your buyers to take charge of their search. If they snap an off-market property, you can look at the property's Likelihood to List score using Homesnap Pro and see if it's very likely to list. Then, using the unlimited homeowner contact information that's included with your free Homesnap Pro account, you could actually reach out to that homeowner and see if they'd be interested in selling. It keeps your home search and communication going, even during these uncertain times. Your buyers may still be eager to buy, or they may be tentative – but encouraging them to stay in that mindset regardless will make it easier for you to ramp back up when they are ready to start making offers. Keep sharing homes using in-app messaging As an agent, you don't want to take a break from communicating with your buyers. Every touchpoint ensures that you're top of mind. By introducing them to in-app messaging in Homesnap, you're creating a safe haven where they can search for homes and share them with you so you can protect that client relationship. Plus, you'll get alerts when they favorite homes so you can always stay on top of their home search. Some buyers have been unfazed throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, and others will be tentative about making offers during another surge. But what you can tell every client, regardless of their attitude, is that it's still important to keep their eyes out, know their neighborhoods, and refine their search criteria so they are ready to hit the accelerator when they feel comfortable. And by keeping that conversation going, you're also staying front of mind – even if you aren't able to meet in person right now. To view the original article, visit the Homesnap blog.
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Educate Your Clients with RPR School Searches and Reports
Fifty-three percent of buyers that have children consider a neighborhood based on the quality of the school districts. And 50% cite convenience to schools as a priority, according to a report from the National Association of REALTORS. The report's findings bode well for agents who use RPR (Realtors Property Resource®), the nation's leading aggregator of real estate data. Agents can leverage the platform's expansive tools to research schools, showcase nearby listings, and create professional-quality reports for clients. RPR's school data, provided by Niche, the industry's fastest-growing school data provider, includes teacher, academic and overall school grades, as well as school district side-by-side comparisons. Specific metrics include: Total enrollment Students per teacher Average GPA Math and reading proficiency Percentage of gifted students Number of students enrolled in AP Graduation rate Average ACT and SAT scores Average teacher salary Percentage of teachers in the first or second year Written school reviews Here's how to perform an RPR school search and then create a customized school report: School Search Log in to narrpr.com Click Research and then select School Search. The school search will appear. From the left drop down menu, choose whether to search by Geography or within a particular School District. Enter the city and state or zip, and click the magnifying glass to execute your search To further narrow down your search, enter a School Name to the right of the School Search or choose a School Type: Elementary, Middle, High A few notes about your search results: From the Search Results, view the basic information and rating of each school, create a School Report, or View Nearby Listings. If you're looking to dive deeper on a school, select the school name. You'll see the school's address, grades served, enrollment, information about standardized test scores and the school's grade rating, including the average rating for schools in the area. The Reviews tab displays community reviews for the school. These reviews are also provided by Niche. You can also link to nearby listings, neighborhood information, and other local schools. Create Your School Report RPR's School Report summarizes the data from your search, as well as provides options to compare schools within a district or a specified radius, and/or select up to 20 nearby listings to include in the report. From the school results page, click Create Report (or choose Schools from the Reports menu). Select to choose the elements you want displayed on the report Personalize your report with a recipient name and message Choose your delivery method Click Run Report To view the original article, visit the RPR blog.
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Consider a Lifestyle Section for Your Real Estate Website
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5 Tips for Pricing Homes in Great School Districts
For families on the hunt for a new place to live, school district quality is of prime concern. Whether trying to keep kids close to friends in an existing district or seeking out one where the proverbial grass is greener, many are willing to pay up. But how much should real estate selling be influenced by proximity to a great school? Setting Home Prices in Good School Districts without Pricing Out Buyers When puzzling out prices, consider the following:
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Realtor.com Launches New 'Search by School' Feature
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Select and Sort Your Way to RPR's Enhanced School Search and Reports
One of the single most important factors in buying a home can be the school district in which it resides. Given RPR's newest release to its school searching and reporting features, REALTORS® now have increased opportunities to find the best fit for their clients. Here's how... Step #1: Search Select Schools from the homepage of www.narrpr.com. Choose to search by geography or school district from the dropdown menu. Select Advanced to search by school name. Enter the city and state, or ZIP and click the orange search button.
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Convert Leads and Close Sales for Less (11/11)
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Why the School District Should Impact Your Clients' Home Search
Buying a home in a good school district can result in resale advantages, offer protection from market fluctuation and provide a great education. Real estate experts in markets across the country share what consumers should know about a school district's impact on real estate, regardless of whether or not they plan on using the school system. Feel free to share this information with your clients! Determine what you're looking for in a school district Before you begin your search, determine how you are looking to benefit from the school district. According to Aisha J. Thomas, associate broker, The Thomas Agency, the most important quality of a good school district is unique to every buyer. "Although test scores and statistics are a great starting point, schools require a closer look. Factors to consider are the environment, active parental participation, teacher credentials/support, offering of core competencies, extracurricular and after-school options. These factors can contribute to a well-rounded education." "The quality of the school district is one of the first things home buyers evaluate before making a purchase. Many buyers filter their search by only looking for homes in a certain district," says Jake Cain, real estate agent, Keller Williams. "Defining what a 'good' school district is varies from one family to the next. While we often think of high test scores, some families may be concerned with their budding athlete playing for a top program and others may place a particular premium on student to teacher ratio." You don't need to have children to benefit from buying in a top school district. "A home located in a good school district carries the benefit of maintaining its value in comparison to lower tiered school systems," says Linda Brincks, real estate consultant, The Raines Group. "Even if you do not plan to use the school systems yourself, many buyers (especially relocation buyers) will opt for homes in the top notch school systems when it's time to sell the in the future."
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Create a Community Tour
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Win a Gift from PicketReport.com
This month, we’ve got another Giveaway for you! Some of the leading vendors in real estate technology are participating — including PicketReport.com. We'll tell you all about PicketReport.com here, but there are other gifts to explore. Click here to see your options.   Gift from PicketReport.comPicketReport.com will be giving away a 1-year subscription of their widget   About PicketReport.comPicketReport.com is a neighborhood research tool. The site provides information about what’s nearby, crime/safety, lifestyles, schools, etc. The way PicketReport.com works is simple. Begin by entering a city, zip code, or an address for an area of interest. The map will display lifestyle information, as well as a “story” for the typical resident of that area.  The map will also who icons for crime, schools, and neighborhood details. Click on an icon to learn more. PicketReport.com is a data aggregation company. Their data comes from a variety of different sources, companies that pull from over 300 sources to provide over 100 million neighborhood and property details.
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