Broker Website Dives Into the Fabric of Local Communities

As the real world and the digital world become more interconnected, more and more agents and brokers are discovering that the online real estate marketplace is a rapidly changing place driven by the consumers' thirst for information. With so many opportunities available, there is no shortage of tools for real estate professionals to leverage to their advantage in staying competitive.

One such example is the recent launch of Houlihan Lawrence's new website. Powered by local and neighborhood data from Onboard Informatics, this brokerage offers a better way to interact with its customers and connect with the communities it serves – as well as differentiate itself from its competitors.

The thing that makes Houlihan Lawrence's new site so impressive is its ability to offer engaging content to customers – both for them (as provided by rich videos) and by them (user-generated content on community tips and hot buttons). Serving the Westchester, Dutchess, and Putnam County real estate markets in upstate New York, the website provides its users with an interactive home search experience that goes beyond simple home and property values. Customers can evaluate communities based on a variety of criteria, including neighborhood demographics, nearby schools, points of interest, and even transportation.

More importantly, though, Houlihan Lawrence presents its community data in a way that connects prospective home buyers to the neighborhoods they are researching. Each community profile features conversations and testimonials from town residents via StreetAdvisor, video tours and interviews, and reviews from the general public. All this feedback allows customers to search for properties in a more personalized way that's unique to their own wants and needs. It also helps that Houlihan Lawrence includes beautiful pictures of every property they list (and who doesn't like to look at pictures of nice houses?).

Here at Onboard, we can't stress enough the importance of keeping visitors on your website engaged through interesting and interactive content. With such fierce competition in the online real estate market, the companies that can tailor their services to the communities that they serve (like Houlihan Lawrence) are the ones that usually come out ahead at the end of the day. Don't believe me? Check out Houlihan Lawrence's new site and see the awesomeness for yourself. And seriously, those houses are all amazing.

Note: All pictures and videos courtesy of HoulihanLawrence.com

To view the original article, visit the Onboard Informatics blog.