Press Release

Choosing the Right Real Estate Website Can Aid in Home Search

A majority of home searches start online, and there are many real estate websites from which to choose. But, all sites are not created equally, and it’s important for homebuyers to make sure they are using a website that will provide them with the most robust and accurate information possible. 

“Choosing a home to purchase is an important decision and requires access to the best resources,” said Michael Montsko, who oversees Weichert.com. “Select your online website wisely, and you’ll feel confident you’ve explored all the options prior to making your final choice.” 

Below are three tips from Montsko to help buyers pick a website to use during their home search: 

How is the website presented? One of the first things you can do is visit a website and look at the way the listings are presented. You should be looking for plenty of large photos that show details of the home and multiple views of listings that meet your criteria, such as map view, photo view and list view. You also want to make sure the site includes all of the home’s features, as well as community and school information. Many sites limit what is shown, so if you are seeing a lot of information, that’s a good a start. 

Does the site show all of the agent-listed homes for sale in the area? Next, you’ll want to ensure you’re using a site that shows all of the agent-listed homes for sale. Typically this is going to be a real estate brokerage site, such as Weichert.com. These brokerage sites tend to be considerably more complete, more accurate and quicker to update with new listings. In fact a recent real estate industry study showed that each of the local real estate brokerage websites they analyzed contained 100 percent of the homes listed for sale in the Multiple Listing Service, while portal sites like Zillow and Trulia contained just 79 to 81 percent of the listings.  

Does the website provide excellent customer service? Because purchasing a home is such a significant investment, you are bound to have a lot of questions and will want to find out more about a listing as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, an agent responsiveness study conducted by the WAV Group discovered that 48 percent of Internet buyer inquiries were never responded to. However, at Weichert.com, the typical response time to customer inquires is less than three minutes. While selecting one of your largest assets – ask yourself, would you rather work with a website that can answer your questions immediately or one that never gets back to you? 

“At Weichert.com, we devote considerable time and resources to ensuring that homebuyers have a positive experience on our site,” added Montsko. “Not only can consumers view the complete inventory of homes for sale on our site, but they also are assured of being connected in real time to someone who is knowledgeable about a home and who can arrange a showing. Positive experiences such as this are why we are one of the most visited real estate websites in the nation.” 

For more information about Weichert, Realtors or to find your local office, please visit www.weichert.com.  

Since 1969, Weichert, Realtors has grown from a single office into one of the nation’s leading providers of homeownership services by putting its customers first. A family of full-service real estate and financial services companies, Weichert helps customers buy and sell both residential and commercial real estate, and streamlines the delivery of mortgages and home and title insurance. Weichert leverages its customer website, www.weichert.com, one of the most visited real estate websites in the nation, to help families and individuals realize the dream of homeownership through quick and easy access to listing information and the services of its real estate professionals nationwide. For more information, Weichert’s customer service center can be reached at 1-800-USA-SOLD. Weichert franchised offices are independently owned and operated. 

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