I am pleased to announce that New Condos Online has resigned Sky Las Vegas as a featured listing. Sky Las Vegas has been on our site for some time but with all the new incentives we have upgraded our site with, we felt as if the Sky Las Vegas condo development could be better represented by upgrading their listing with us and including them in our monthly e-blasting service to over 300,000 opt-in subscribers. New Condos Online has also taking their listing and is featuring it on our "Hot Condos" toolbar which effectively represents the newest and hottest condos currently being advertised online. The Sky Las Vegas Condo development has been apart of the New Condos Online family for more than a year and have reaped the benefits of being an integral part of the largest and most visited condo website on the internet. We have developed a strategic partnership with the Sky Las Vegas condo developers by taking their listing and adding almost every marketing tool to get their name all over the Internet and with only 40 units left until it is sold out, we will be sad to see them go but pleased to know that we played a part in their success!

Over the past 10 years or so the number of real estate related websites has grown by about 75% to 80% each year.  This of course includes anything and everything real estate.  Obviously the major players such as Google and Yahoo have become involve, but it’s the vertical search engines and destination sites that really supply the specific information that buyers are looking for.  Sites like NewCondosOnline.com are a combination of search portal and destination site where you want the user to stay for a while and gather information but then be on their way to the true destination site.  We have then seen these vertical search engines branch into even more industry specific niches such as resort communities, condos, time shares, etc. 

In the past, home buyers relied mostly on agents who held the key to all the information.  As the Internet has progressed from Web 1.0 to Web 2.0 the level of communication and information gathering has gone through the roof.  Now buyers spend months gathering information before ever contacting an agent. 

Will agents ever become obsolete?  That is doubtful.

Buying a home or condo is a very emotional experience and large commitment and people want to hold someone’s hand through the process.  Of course, the agents are necessary for all the detail work and negotiations, but they provide the necessary emotional support as well.  Agents these days probably spend less time in the car because the buyers come to them already knowing what they want.  Some agents were initially a bit intimidated by the introduction of technology to the world of real estate but it has really only proven to enhance the overall information sharing process.  Agents can gain more exposure, more clients, and more commissions…builders can market their projects more efficiently, etc. 

Technology has obviously affected the real estate industry on many levels making information easy to find and at a much faster pace.  Home buyers and consumers can now search for new homes on websites like www.newcondosonline.com, Move.com, Realtor.com, etc. as well as find relevant data pertaining to the local market as on sites like Zillow.com.  The Internet has taken on a new meaning with websites like MySpace.com and YouTube.com.  These sites have a community feel which creates more of a lifestyle than just a website for people to see.  

We can all learn from this strategy and apply it to more traditional real estate portals.  Real estate listing sites can now benefit from new technologies like video, virtual tours, and real estate web TV.  One of the first key factors in any successful website is to create a community where people can gather and share information.  The second is to create a desire for those users to always want to come back because they know each time there will be something new and exciting.  

Today, I had a laugh. A hearty laugh it was. Let me explain to you what transpired.

I called up a potential client who, on three (3) previous occassions, contacted us and expressed extreme interest in using our service. Each time she expressed interest in our company, we had very good conversation about the value in our service and how we are and have managed to be the leader for new condo advertising on the web.

Today, I called for a friendly follow up. I introduced myself and told her who I was and she seemed to have no recollection of who I was nor what company I was with. So, after the formalities were exchanged, I asked her if she was any closer to making a decision regarding getting some of her product on NewCondosOnline.com. Her response was: "No thanks, we have a website." I asked her if she was doing any SEO and she replied "No." I asked her if her website was on any lead generation sites to which she responded "nope."

I then explained to her the benefits of using our site and the power of lead generation portal like NewCondosOnline.com. She's now a client and her properties are already attracting many eyeballs - in less than a day!

I hung up the phone, shook my head and laughed for a good five minutes.

Why did I laugh? Because it's evident that some people in the marketing field still don't seem to realize the power of internet marketing. If 10 people were in a room together and each was asked where they would start their search for a new home, 8 of those people would answer: "The Internet."

Moral of the story - if you're a marketing director or owner of a real estate company, make sure your properties are on the internet and that people will find your websites. A website is only useful when people can view it.