Real Estate News

Planomatic recently released PhotoPlan Mobile 1.0 Beta - the first mobile interactive floor plan presentation optimized for the iPhone in the virtual media industry. iPhone users now have the ability to interact with real estate listings’ floor plans from any point on earth with internet service.

Planomatic seems to really have hit the nail on the head. The coolest part of this product is that the consumer can interact with it.

Once you click on the floor plan, you can pick from a drop down menu and choose which room you’d like to ‘decorate.’ Once you select the room, you are given a large variety of ‘furniture’ to choose from – including colors and styles, as well as the ability adjust wall and carpet colors.  I really like that a lot of thought went into the interactive part of this app. For example, you can pick different styles and colors of furniture – which really help to ‘put you in the house’ and paint the picture of what it would be like to live there.

One thing this app has going for it is the ‘fun factor.’ If I was a buyer, I could definitely see myself using this app especially for homes I was really interested in. It could  help a buyer make that decision when they are wondering:  “Is this the house for me?”

Kori Covrigaru, the CEO of Planomatic says, “It’s quite unique, and in my opinion (yes, I’m obviously biased) the coolest thing to hit virtual tours/iPhone in quite some time.”

To access the app – tap this link  from your iPhone – Safari will recognize that it’s on the iPhone, and automatically display the PhotoPlan Mobile:

Interactive FloorPlan Presentation

There are other great floor plan programs out there such as: United Lane or Floor Planner but none have the interactive iPhone app that Planomatic has.

According to Kory, the BlackBerry and Android apps are on their way!

What do you think of this app? Would love your opinion of it!

Do you have a unique or new product coming to the market? Drop me a line at katie@inman.com or post it in the comments below.

Written by: Katie Lance, Marketing Manager, Inman News

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Interactive Floor Plans Going Mobile

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I know the 12 Days of iPhone Apps are over, but I couldn’t help but share a brand new app that launches today! Realtor.com is making their 4 million listings accessible via the iPhone. In addition, they are providing agents and consumers with a rich set of features to make the most of their mobile experience.

Agents that already utilize Realtor.com to post their listings will be able to sync with their account via the app. Branding and contact information is carried over so that interested buyers can easily reach out to the agent, or even add the agent to their iPhone address book. In fact, an interested buyer can contact the listing agent in a number of ways with a single tap: ask a question, call agent directly, visit agent Website.

Consumers can easily search for homes and upcoming open houses, explore neighborhoods using the map view, and utilize the advanced search criteria. And when I say “easily”, I’m particularly referring to the GPS feature which allows users to drive around a neighborhood they like and view all the current listings in the area (which are also updated every 15 minutes).  BTW- You could also search using the MLS number.

Once you’ve selected a home you like, the listing detail page offers up a good amount of info, as well as up to 25 photos of the home (which can also be viewed in landscape mode). The home buying process itself can become a more organized and efficient process with this app by saving favorites and using the Notes and Ratings features.

Now when it comes to sharing listing information, buyers using the app can simply email their favorites to friends or agents,  or….share to Facebook or Twitter! I appreciate the fact that I can add a personal message along with the listing I share, making the sharing experience more personalized.

It’s important to note that although this app was created specifically for iPhone users, Realtor.com will be exploring options for other mobile sharing devices this year.

To get started, you can download this app from the iPhone App Store by searching “Realtor.com”…oh, and it’s FREE!

Related Posts

• Get Smart with Any Mobile Phone
• HouseFront Helps Real Estate Agents with Mobile Access to Property Information
• Cyberhomes, The FNRES answer to home valuation

View post:
Realtor.com Launches New iPhone App & Makes Mobile Home Search Useful

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About Qik:

A few weeks back we were excited to hear Ustream was approved for the iTunes app store. At the time, it seemed obvious Qik would follow suite and make a move for approval. Well it’s happened; Qik (version 4.40)streaming video service has been officially approved by the app store and is now ready to download.

This smooth application lets you to stream videos right from your iPhone.  If you don’t already have a Qik account, simply create one after downloading the application and you’re ready to start shooting video in public or private mode. If you choose private you’ll control who sees the video by sending various parties a direct link from SMS or email.

Why we like Qik:

Qik was the first to bring video to the iPhone, even before Apple.  The only problem with Qik was that users needed to Jailbreak their phones to get access to the app. One major drawback of Jailbreaking is that you void your factory warranty.  Although now that Qik is officially approved, you’ll get all the benefits simply by installing the free app.

We love that Qik works on the iPhone 2g, iPhone 3g, or iPhone 3gs. We also like that once you’ve captured that perfect video, Qik makes it easy to share using sites like Facebook, Twitter & YouTube.

If you’re wondering how you could apply streaming video to your real estate business, here are a few ideas:

• Share a local home tour with your out of state buyer
• Capture important moments from your local city council meeting
• Broadcast downtown event on your blog
• Share highlights from a  convention

Cost: FREE!

Related Posts

• 12 Days of iPhone Apps – Day 1: Regator Premium
• Bobbing for iPhone Apps: 15 Worth Sinking Your Teeth Into
• Get Your Own Real Estate iPhone App….for FREE!

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12 Days of iPhone Apps – Day 12: Qik

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Isleworth, an exclusive gated golf community in Windermere, FL that many celebrities call home, continues to make headlines (aerial of Isleworth above).

A few weeks ago, Tiger Woods’ car accident dominated the news, followed by headlines about Tiger’s and Elin’s homes and what might happen to them if the Woods’ split. Tiger has two homes in Isleworth and a big estate in Jupiter Island, FL and a condo in North Palm Beach, FL. And, that’s just Florida.

Now, another headline around Isleworth emerges: the multimillion dollar Isleworth home of Bob Ward (photo below) will be auctioned in March. The background of this gorgeous home is a bit unsettling — it’s where Ward’s wife, Diane, was fatally shot this past September; Bob (pictured left) is charged with the murder.

According to the Orlando Sentinel, a judge was to sign off on a final foreclosure order. Ward reportedly owes $3.7 million on the seven-bedroom, nine-bathroom home.

An additional twist to this story is that Ward’s 8,800-square-foot residence was once owned by legendary golfer Arnold Palmer, former major-league pitcher Orel Hershiser and publishing mogul Rance Crain. What a lineup that is, for all of these celebrities to have owned this same home.

Coincidentally, Palmer helped conceive of Isleworth, which was once a citrus grove. Called the “Isle of Worth” by the Chase family that owned the property, it was sold in 1984 and developed into a gated golf community haven that attracted celebs, including NBA stars Shaquille O’Neal, Vince Carter, and Grant Hill; baseball star Ken Griffey Jr.; former NFL star Warren Sapp and LPGA player Paula Creamer.

No, these are not the kinds of headlines the super-rich who live in Isleworth like to see.

Read more here:
Isleworth Continues to Make Headlines

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Residents of an apartment building located at 330 Esplanade Ave in Pacifica, CA, a seaside town about 15 miles south of San Francisco, are being evacuated due to extreme erosion of the cliff it is situated on, according to KGO-TV, San Francisco. The photo above is from our Bird’s Eye View and could be a year or two old, but you can see where the erosion of the cliff began.

Authorities have been monitoring the situation for years and determined that if the cliff erodes to within 12 feet of the building, it would need to be evacuated. Yesterday, a 30-foot chunk of the cliff broke off, leading to the evacuation. Watch this KGO report.

Source:
Cliffside Pacifica, CA Apartment Building Evacuated

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Life is full of surprises, and it’s especially fun when you get them at work.

As the head of recruiting at Zillow, I meet all kinds of people and see a ton of resumes and occasionally, we get really creative types who want to make a statement.

For example, there was a guy who showed up to an interview in a powder-blue tuxedo with a ruffled cummerbund. His attire would’ve prevailed as the winner of the jaw-dropper award, but I think a recent-morning visitor definitely wins the prize!

There he is in our lobby, reading the paper and dressed in a pink panther costume. Halloween was well past and since big cats can’t speak, we tried charades. Was this a jewel thief, an escapee from the zoo, or one of those people who likes to dress up in animal costumes for fun?  Eventually, Mr. Panther produced a resume -– he wanted to work for Zillow!   Unfortunately, we didn’t have the right fit for this furry creature, but what a great attention-grabber.

Which leads us to the point of this blog post: Zillow is hiring! We are about to embark on a big year in 2010 and we’re putting out the call for motivated, talented professionals to come and help us continue to build Zillow. We have two specific needs right now:

• Inside Sales Consultants (Multiple openings in Seattle)
• E-mail Developer

We have a casual work environment and like to have fun.  Be sure to bring your creative side and come check us out! And no — you don’t have to show up in a costume.

Continued here:
Zillow is Hiring! Costume Not Required

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(Photo courtesy Sotheby’s)

Fashion designer Tory Burch has listed her oceanfront Southampton, NY estate for $17.9 million; it is located somewhere on Meadow Lane.

Even though there is an existing home and pool (photo above) on the 4.5-acre property, plans call for the construction of a 7-bed, 9-bath, 7,100 sq ft beach house. It is being designed by architect Daniel Romualdez (take a look at the designs).

According to Hamptons Curbed, Burch will take a loss on the property after buying the home from her ex-husband for $22.5 million in July 2008. Burch has reportedly purchased the Howard Gittis home around the corner at 500 Ox Pasture Road, Southampton, NY.

Fashion Designer Tory Burch Lists Southampton Teardown for $17.9 Million

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With the homebuyer tax credits and low mortgage rates stimulating demand for housing during 2009, and home values declining at a lower rate than they were last year, “stabilization” has been the buzzword of 2009.

But home values in some areas of the country are doing more than stabilizing. So we at Zillow.com set out to find the cities that are seeing the biggest year-over-year increases in home values. We looked at cities with populations of more than 20,000, and compared their October 2009 Zillow Home Value Index (which measures the median value of all homes in an area) with the October 2008 Index to see which cities had the most appreciation in home values. We then broke the results down on a national and regional level. Here is what we found:

Best of the NATION

The city of Charleston, WV (the state capital) takes the number one spot as the U.S. city with the biggest year-over-year appreciation in median home value (as measured by the Zillow Home Value Index). New Orleans, LA and Wilmington, DE take second and third spots, respectively.

Best of the WEST

Pasco, WA, located in the state’s budding wine region has topped the list of cities in the west with the highest year-over-year appreciation. The West list is dominated by cities in Colorado which have seen home value appreciation for the first time since mid-2007.

Best of the MIDWEST

Mequon, WI, a small city located on the western shore of Lake Michigan but within commuting distance to downtown Milwaukee tops the list of cities in the Midwest with the most year-over-year appreciation. It is the only representative of Wisconsin on a list primarily made up of cities in Ohio and Illinois.

Best of the NORTHEAST

Charleston, WV, which also tops the national list, ranks as the top city in the Northeast for year-over-year appreciation. Cities within New York State make up five of the remaining nine cities making this year’s list.

Best of the SOUTH

The Big Easy, New Orleans, LA, ranks number one in the South as the city with the highest year-over-year appreciation. Other major cities on the list include Louisville, KY (which tied for the seventh spot) and Little Rock, AR.

Excerpt from:
Best-Performing Cities of 2009

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Sadly, the only way to really get people to embrace recycling is to pay them. Fortunately, it’s working. In Cherry Hill, NJ, the city has partnered with recyclebank.com in a program that motivates people to recycle by giving them monetary rewards.

Here’s how it works:

• Residents receive new 96-gallon containers that are microchipped with their address and account number.
• Residents dump all of their recycling into this one bin (glass, paper, plastic, cans) — no separating needed!
• The city dump truck then comes around each week, weighing and hauling away each resident’s recyling. The weight is added to their account. The more weight they have in the bin, the more “reward dollars” they get.
• Reward dollars can be used locally or nationally at participating partners, including Coke, Patagonia, Whole Foods, IKEA, Timberland and more.

The money the towns and cities save in landfill and incinerator fees covers the points program and the money it pays RecycleBank. Pretty cool way to reduce our waste and get people to pay attention.

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One Way to Get People to Recycle: Pay Them!

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It was a sea of cowboy attitude and attire, including cowboy hats, cowboy boots, bolo ties, chaps, and plenty of bandanas as the “Zillow Holiday Hoedown” office party was held at the Jules Maes Saloon in the Georgetown neighborhood of Seattle this past weekend.

Many thanks to the good folks at Jules Maes — called Seattle’s oldest bar — for putting up with tech-types trying to be cowboys and cowgirls.

At one point during the night, CEO Rich Barton and VP of Product Teams Kristin Acker belted out a Zillow version of “Home on the Range.” Yup, that’s them above. Give it a try:

“Home on Zillow”

(sung to the tune of “Home on the Range”)

Oh find me a home where my children can roam
Where the neighbors are friendly and nice
Where seldom is heard a blasphemous word
And I buy at a reasonable price

Chorus:
Home, home on Zillow
Where I can find the home of my dreams
I can get loans with ease, then just give me the keys
Zillow must have a fabulous team

I’ve used other sites, and I am being polite
To say they don’t have what I need
Then one day I found, the web site to be crowned
Zillow rocks real estate, it’s agreed (Chorus)

The maps are just grand, condos, houses, and land
They glitter with parcels and ‘hoods
And now I can chose, just one place to peruse
To search for that home near the woods (Chorus)

Maybe I will decide, just to rent for a tide
While the markets are settling down
On Zillow I will seek, that apartment with chic
Just on the north side of downtown (Chorus)

On the homes I can see, pictures, views of the trees
There’s a Zestimate on every roof
It helps me decide, whether there I should ride
Who could ever need any more proof (Chorus)

If I need some aid, into Zillow I’ll wade
There are agents awaiting my call
In there I’ll find, Realtors® savvy and kind
I told you, they just have it all (Chorus)

When I’m ready to own, and I need a loan
For my business the lenders can vie
“True cost” helps me pick, which lender I’ll click
And my payments will not be so high (Chorus)

Every shopper should go, to that site called Zillow
You’ll be glad you did, this I do pledge
Go type that site in, take a long look within
For your search, get your real estate edge (Chorus)

Here are more scenes from the Zillow Holiday Hoedown:

Developers Graff Haley and Cole Rottweiler

Senior accountant Jack Egan and wife, Sarah

(Left to right) VP Christopher Roberts, sales director Lucy Wohltman and Christopher’s wife, Jennifer

Designer Henry Rose and customer support specialist David Tobey

We’re a fun bunch and enjoy working hard and playing hard. If you like what you see, please check out our jobs page. Zillow is hiring!

Credit:
Zillow’s Holiday Hoedown: A Sea of Cowboy Attitude

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Vanity Fair fans will be the most curious around the recent news that the New York City penthouse apartment of the late investigative journalist Dominick Dunne is listed for $1,250,000.

Dunne’s Turtle Bay-area penthouse apartment has one bedroom and one bathroom and includes French doors that open to a wrap terrace, a small study, and a living room with wood-burning fireplace.

After the tragic murder of his daughter, Dominique in 1982, Dunne became absorbed in covering crimes that had an element of celebrity; he covered the trials of O.J. Simpson, Claus von Bulow, Michael Skakel, William Kennedy Smith, and the Menendez brothers for Vanity Fair. Dunne was also from a family of celebrities. Dominique was an actress, son Griffin is an actor and director, his late brother was the novelist John Gregory Dunne and his sister-in-law is Joan Didion, the National Book Award winner in 2005 for “The Year of Magical Thinking.”

Dunne died this past August after losing a two-year battle to bladder cancer.

> See more photos of Dunne’s penthouse

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Mortgage rates for 30-year fixed mortgages rose again this week, with the weekly average rate borrowers quoted on Zillow Mortgage Marketplace at 4.72%, up from 4.67% the week prior. This is the first time rates have risen in weeks. Additionally, 15-year fixed borrowers were quoted on average, 4.21% and for 5/1 ARMs, 3.81%.

This morning, the national rate for 30-year fixed purchase mortgages was 4.76%.

What are the rates right now? Check Zillow Mortgage Marketplace for up-to-the-minute mortgage rates.

Here is the original:
Mortgage Rates Rise For Second Straight Week

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We love early adopters!

Last night, we launched our rentals product. Due to the lateness of the launch, we expected only a small audience of property owners and property managers to notice. But, who knew there are so many nite owls looking for ways to market their properties — especially on the East Coast!

Without further adieu, we give you the first 10 homes posted for rent on Zillow:

1. 13014 W Avalon Dr., Avondale, AZ 85392

2. 93 Davenport Dr, Stamford, CT 06902

3. 9036 Bronson Dr, Potomac, MD 20854 (photo above)

4. 109 N Main St, Apt 802, Memphis, TN 38103

5. 13146 Minnow Way, Frisco, TX 75035

6. 2380 Capri, Chowchilla, CA 93610

7. 327 Margaret Ave, Baltimore, MD 21221

8. 1001 Lake Kennedy Dr, Suffolk, VA 23434

9. 13124 W San Miguel Ave, Litchfield Park AZ 85340

10. 145 William Feather Dr, Voorhees, NJ 08043

Thank you for using Zillow to post your home for rent. Cost is just $9.95 per listing for 180 days on the second-largest real estate Web site in the U.S. Have a rental? Get it on Zillow and stand out from the crowd!

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Today, we’re thrilled to announce the birth of rentals on Zillow.

When we launched Zillow in 2006, our goal was to create a database of all the homes in the U.S., with each home filled with rich information so that people could make smarter home-related decisions at every stage of their lives. Since then, we’ve opened up the database to our users, allowing them to claim a home, edit home facts, post a home for sale or set a “Make Me Move” price.

Today’s launch addresses two of the most common requests we get from users, which include the ability to post a home for rent, and to empower home shoppers with information about finding homes for rent.

Owners of rental properties and property managers can now market rental listings on Zillow, the second-largest real estate Web site, and reach 8.3 million people every month, including a million renters and many others who are on the fence over whether to buy or to rent. Our easy posting tool allows users to create rich listings, with unlimited photos and detailed rental info including lease term, availability and whether pets are allowed. For $9.95 per listing, rentals will be featured on Zillow and show up at the top of Zillow search results where they receive six times as many views as non-featured listings. Listings can remain active for 180 days — or, until the home is rented; no need to keep reposting every few days!

Compare monthly for-sale and for-rent prices

We are also proud to offer an innovative search comparison in which home shoppers on Zillow can now search for both rental and for sale homes in their area and compare monthly costs. This new, monthly payment search filter allows shoppers to compare rental and for sale homes side-by-side based on a monthly payment they can afford, and decide what the best solution is for them. This should appeal particularly to the 25 percent of people who plan to move in the next three years and say they will search simultaneously for both rental and for sale homes, according to a recent survey by Harris Interactive.

Please check it out for yourselves. If you’re a landlord or property manager, please post your rental listings on Zillow today. If you’re shopping for a home or just dreaming, please search your area and try out our new monthly payment filter.

If you’re just curious, check out this home for rent, and the search experience comparing this home to local homes for sale (it’s the house for rent with the purple icon for $1,950/month).

We’d love your feedback and suggestions to make this work better for you!

Read the original:
Announcing: Rental Listings and Search

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(Photo of courtesy Orlando Sentinel)

Now that golf superstar Tiger Woods is focusing on becoming a better father, husband and person (hey Tiger — what about becoming a better driver?) — it appears Tiger and wife Elin’s real estate assets will stay put for awhile.

There is Tiger Woods’ Jupiter Island estate, which is a combination of several addresses: 462 S Beach, Jupiter, FL, 466 S. Beach Rd, Jupiter, FL, and 467 S. Beach Rd, Jupiter, FL, and Tiger’s Windermere home (where Tiger’s car accident happened). Then, there’s another Windermere home, and a condo in North Palm Beach. And this is just in Florida.

Tiger’s Jupiter homes

According to Page2Live, Woods’ Jupiter real estate collection has been a work in progress since he bought the homes in 2004. First, he had the homes leveled, then Elin helped design the residence, which is nearly 10,000 sq ft and has an adjacent 6,000 sq ft gym (photo above). It is still under construction.

Palm Beach-area real estate agents feel he spent about $55 million, and will be lucky to get dollar-for-dollar back, if the Woods’ decide to split. Just recently, NFL’s Tampa Bay owner Malcolm Glazer sold his Palm Beach home for $24 million, considered a landmark property vs. Tiger’s Jupiter Island estate, which many real estate pros feel he may have over invested in.

(Photo courtesy LA Times)

Elin’s Sweden Property

Now, to add to the Woods’ real estate collection, Tiger’s wife Elin Woods just purchased a home in Sweden.

On Dec. 1, Tiger’s wife, Elin, purchased an old farmhouse on Faglaro, a small island near Stockholm, only reachable by boat (home is on the far right in photo above). The price is reportedly $2.2 million. No one knows if this deal was underway prior to Tiger’s “transgressions” or whether Tiger is part of the transaction. Since it is remote, it is possible the couple will try to escape the media blitz on the island. Or, it could just be a providential purchase by Elin.

The home is one of approximately 140 properties on the island — mostly summer homes — and it has six bedrooms.

15 Minutes of Fame

Meanwhile, one of Tiger’s alleged girlfriends, Jamie Jungers is apartment-shopping in New York, looking at 1 Irving Place , which is reportedly owned by real estate developer Elie Hirschfeld who is presently selling his East Hampton estate for $25 million.

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