realtor.com®

ShowingTime+ Launches Immersive Listing Experience on Zillow
ShowingTime+ on Tuesday introduced Listing Showcase, an immersive, AI-powered experience only available on Zillow. This "super listing" features an entirely new look designed to help listing agents showcase their brand and listings, and deliver an elevated experience that could help homeowners sell their home faster. Now exclusively available in its first iteration to partners in Atlanta, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Diego and Seattle, this premium product gives agents a way to stand out and offer a listing experience to their sellers that rises above the rest. Listing Showcase gives agents the tools to highlight a home's best features and give buyers a deep understanding of the home before they ever step inside. The entirely new artificial intelligence-powered Showcase listings feature high-resolution scrolling hero images, room-by-room photo organization, interactive floors plans and more. These listings combine the power of AI with the nuance of an agent's deep local expertise to create a premium experience for shoppers not found anywhere else – an experience that will only improve as new functionality and AI-enabled features become available in the coming months. Showcase listings are designed to attract serious buyers and leverage AI to help sell homes faster. As the next generation of immersive home shopping experiences, every Showcase listing includes an interactive floor plan. Zillow research finds listings on Zillow that include an interactive floor plan receive 79% more saves than homes without, and are 10% more likely to go pending within 30 days. To build Showcase listings, AI selects hero images based on buyer preferences, associates listing photos with corresponding rooms in the interactive floor plan and room-by-room displays, and more. Agents can rely on AI for this step or use these selections as a starting point, allowing them full control over customizing the listing. Soon, listing agents will be able to select from AI-generated insights on which home facts and features matter most to home shoppers to help highlight the home's best features. "Combining ShowingTime+'s best-in-class technology with Zillow's industry-leading audience allows us to create an unmatched listing experience for agents and sellers," said Mike Lane, vice president of ShowingTime+. "As soon as shoppers land on a Showcase listing, they'll be virtually transported into the home, giving them a deep understanding of the home's flow, architecture and design – all before visiting in person. Listing Showcase is the first of its kind – a listing experience that captivates shoppers, wows sellers, and gives agents a powerful tool to help them win more listings and grow their business." Listing Showcase is an exclusive offering that is sold by subscription and only available to a select number of listing agents in each market. By working with a Listing Showcase agent, sellers' homes will appear higher in home shoppers' personalized search results as relevant, which is where the majority of shoppers begin their search. Listing Showcase will launch in most major markets throughout this year, along with new features and capabilities to continue elevating the Listing Showcase experience. Agents who are interested in hearing when Listing Showcase is launching in their market can join the waitlist on the ShowingTime+ website. "Being a part of Listing Showcase is like having an online billboard for our brand and business," said Hedda Parashos, CEO of Palisade Realty in San Diego. "From 3D tours to drone photography, the Listing Showcase experience is truly unique and will make our clients' homes stand out from anything else on the market. The fact that we can do it all on one platform as a one-stop-shop makes it a no-brainer for our business. There's no doubt that being able to offer Listing Showcase to potential clients will help us win more listings and attract even more sellers who want an exclusive experience when selling their home." Listing Showcase empowers agents to market themselves and their listings in the best way possible and contribute to a more dynamic real estate marketplace. The entire ShowingTime+ software suite helps agents and brokers operate their businesses more efficiently, win more customers and elevate the experience of buying and selling for their

Realtor.com Launches Enhanced Listing Intelligence for Agents
In a cooling housing market, real estate professionals may find they have to work harder to win a listing and make a sale. New enhanced listing intelligence features from Realtor.com put predictive insights from listings at agents' fingertips, making it easier for agents to demonstrate their value and knowledge of local market conditions, amplify their marketing tactics for their clients, and close deals. Millions of homeshoppers visit Realtor.com each month. Understanding how these buyers are searching in a local market can be a valuable resource and powerful selling tool for agents in today's shifting market. With the new suite of features, real estate professionals now have access to valuable listing intelligence, including: Buyer info: See the total number of potential buyers in their local market on Realtor.com and those who've submitted inquiries on the site with a budget range that matches the listing. Buyer demand: View the top three ZIP codes from which a listing's buyer interest is coming on Realtor.com. Moreover, the new features share the percentage of Realtor.com listing traffic coming from within the listing's city, the listing's state, other states, and internationally. Listing completeness: Gain insights about how complete their property listing is and suggestions for improving it with additional photos or listing description information. Performance score: Understand a property listing's performance and how it's attracting and engaging potential buyers compared to similar listings in that price range and ZIP code on Realtor.com. Market trends: See local market trends seen across Realtor.com, including median days on market, median list price, total number of homes with price reductions, and more. According to a recent consumer survey from Realtor.com, nearly 9 out of 10 home sellers worked with an agent to list their home for sale. Agents and brokers can use Realtor.com's advanced listing intelligence features to help convert leads into clients with market intelligence and trends insights, as well as to help inform and manage seller expectations. Agents can also use the intelligence solutions to keep their homeowner clients informed and engaged throughout the selling process with automated, personalized and customizable reports about their home's performance. The report also provides sellers with insights about recent trends in their local market that have been seen across Realtor.com, such as median days on market, median list price of homes, the percentage of homes with price reductions, and more. Real estate professionals can access the new listing intelligence features at no cost from the Listing Manager section of their Realtor.com Pro Dashboard. Learn more

Tips for Buyers on Choosing Their Next Neighborhood
Have buyer clients that need clear strategies for choosing a new neighborhood? Share this article with them to help them learn how to narrow down the best area for their unique needs. Deciding to move and buying a house can be a stressful, yet exciting process. One of the biggest decisions you'll make when beginning your home search is where you will live. After you decide on the location of your new home, it's time to pick your new neighborhood. Picking your new neighborhood can be tough, especially if you have a family. It's important choose the safest and most practical neighborhood with something for everyone! Neighborhood Safety The first and most important thing to consider when choosing your next neighborhood is the overall safety of the area. At Homes.com, we know the importance of safety, so we have created the "Scores" section on every listing details page of every home for sale or rent.  On the "Scores" section, you can see the Walk Score, Sound Score, Transit Score, and Bike Score.  How Walkable Is the Neighborhood? To find the "Scores" section, go to any property listing details page and scroll past the "Transit" section. Once you get to the "Scores" section, you will see the Walk Score. The Walk Score tells you the walkability of the address and gives you a score out of 100. According to Walkscore.com, a score from 0-20 and 25-49 means Car-Dependent, 50-69 means Somewhat Walkable, 70-89 means Very Walkable, and 90-100 means Walker's Paradise. Even though a Walk Score below 59 seems low, if the score is between 25-49, your family may still be able to walk around the neighborhood, but you won't be able to run errands on foot. If you want an area that's more friendly to walkers, try to find a home in an area that has a walk score above 50. How Loud Is It? To learn about how loud your neighborhood will be, check the Sound Score. Below the Walk Score, you will see the Sound Score. The Sound Score tells you about the outside noise level at the address. The scale for the Sound Score is from 0 to 100. Zero is very loud, and 100 is very quiet. Getting a good night's rest, no matter who you are, is important, so if you are concerned about the sound near your home, it's best to choose a home with a sound score between 70 and 100. Is There Transit Nearby? To check on nearby transit for you and your family, check the Transit Score. You should see the Transit Score to the right of the Walk and Sound Score on the listing details page. The Transit Score tells you how close the address is to nearby public transit, and the scale is from 0 to 100. According to Walkscore.com, a score from 0-24 means Minimal Transit, 25-49 means Some Transit, 50-69 means Good Transit, 70-89 means Excellent Transit, and 90-100 means Rider's Paradise. Using public transit is not only an environmentally conscious decision, but it's a more affordable option than using a car every day. If you want to ensure that your new neighborhood has as many public transportation options as possible, pick a home that has a Transit Score above 50.  Is It Safe to Ride a Bike? To learn about how safe it is to ride bikes in the neighborhood, check out the Bike Score. The last part of the "Scores" section is the Bike Score section, located below Transit Score. According to Walkscore.com, the scale is 0 to 100. A score of 0-49 means Somewhat Bikeable, 50-69 means Bikeable, 70-89 means Very Bikeable, and 90-100 means Biker's Paradise. If you and your family enjoy riding your bikes together, you should look for a home with a Bike Score of at least 50 and above to ensure all of your rides are as safe as possible.   Streetlights Next, look around and see how many streetlights will be near your new home. At night, a few streetlights will help you and your family feel safer. If you see streetlights on your street but they don't come on at night, you might be required to pay a small monthly fee to your power company to keep the lights on. This sometimes occurs in areas outside the city limits. Crime Rates Finally, to get the best idea of the safety in your new neighborhood, you should check out the crime in the area. On City Protect, you can check out the nearest law enforcement agencies and see the incidents happening near the neighborhood. You can also sign up for incident updates to always be in the know and protect your family. Commute to Work Another big consideration you need to make before choosing your next neighborhood is your daily commute to work. You may find a neighborhood you love, but the commute may be over an hour to and from, and that commute could be even longer depending on traffic. Therefore, you should put the home and work addresses into Google Maps to see how long the commute will be. If the commute seems too far, you should pick a neighborhood closer to work.  Schools If you have kids, you'll likely want to check out the schools in the neighborhood you are considering. We have created the "Schools" section on every listing details page. The "Schools" section is below the "Request a Tour" section. Typically, each listing has four schools listed. With each school, you will learn its score out of 10, whether it's elementary, middle, or high school, if the school is public, private, or charter, and how long of a car ride or walk it is from that address. Homes.com gets their school's scores from greatschools.org. Greatschools.org is a website where you can search by the address or name of the school and check out the overall ranking of schools and their test scores. By learning the most about the schools in the area, you can be sure that you are sending your children to the best schools available. Amenities Nearby You might also want to consider the amenities you would like your neighborhood to have, whether it's a park, pool, gym, or restaurant. Determine what kind of amenities would be best for you and your family to enjoy. To find out more about your new neighborhood's amenities, scroll down to the "Parks and Recreation" section or the "Property Details" section on the listing details page. Having these amenities is fun for the whole family and a great resource when making new friends in your neighborhood.   Engagement Speaking of making new friends, you may want to consider the engagement of your neighborhood. Some neighborhoods host group events such as block parties around the holidays. If you and your family enjoy these types of activities, then try and find a neighborhood with a community that engages with one another. Most neighbors that have a lot of engagement usually have an HOA. An HOA is a homeowners' association that charges monthly fees to residents to maintain the neighborhood and keep engagement high. To learn more about HOAs, check out our article, What Is an HOA, or Homeowners Association? Hopefully now you know how to pick the safest and most comfortable neighborhood for you and your family. And if you ever get stuck, Homes.com is here with our Search feature to help you find the perfect home! To view the original article, visit the Homes.com