What is Property Search?

We don't need to tell you what property search is; you know it all too well. It's where your buyers live and breathe, and where your sellers want to reach buyers. There are third party property search portals available, the property search portals on broker or agent websites, and property search portals on MLS sites. The key isn't just for these solutions to be user-friendly, but also for them to have access to accurate and comprehensive data. Finding a solution that's a good fit for your needs and your budget is crucial.

Questions to Ask

There are some important questions to ask when buying any real estate technology product and some that are unique to choosing a solution for property search.

• First, let's look at general questions you'll want to ask.
• What are my objectives for this piece of technology and will this product help me achieve those objectives?
• What is my budget?
• Does my MLS or Association have any agreements with any vendors that might help me obtain this product at a discount or for free?
• What kind of customer service and training programs are available? Are there webinars and, if so, are they recorded so you can view them at any time? Is the vendor's online help sufficient?

After you've asked and answered these questions, you can get down to the questions that are specific to property search:

• Will this solution have access to MLS data to return up-to-date results?
• Which user tools are available with this solution? For example, will users be able to save searches?
• If this is a third party search solution, will ads for other agents appear on your listings?
• Will property search results be visible on a map?
• If this is a property search solution for your MLS, broker or agent site, will this property search link out to an external site or live on your site?
• What search criteria is available?
• How far is the geographical reach of the results?
• Is this property search solution mobile friendly?
• Will these property search results rank in search engines?

Your Options

Download our 2013 Technology Guide for more information about your options.

• Homes.com: Homes.com is a leading property search site with over 12.5 million unique consumer visits monthly, and that traffic can be referred to your agent or broker site. Increase lead generation by promoting your listing or taking out ads.

• Lifestyle Search Engine from Onboard Informatics: An online search engine that enables real estate consumers to search for a property based on the lifestyle they would like to live, Lifestyle Search Engine can be layered over existing IDX search or paired with Onboard's Listings Search Engine to then show buyer properties within their ideal communities. The Listings Search Engine is fully hosted and maintained by Onboard on secure servers owned and operated by the company with pre-approved MLS data.

• Point2 Homes: Point2 Homes is an online real estate marketplace that gives visitors access to in-depth property information, recent sale data and real estate agent contact information.

Next Steps

• Download the 2013 Technology Guide
• Read articles about property search
• Visit the property search section of our product directory
• Ask your MLS or Association
• Contact the vendors above