BidSelect

3May

“Cyber Location, Location, Location: It’s a Market Reality” – Selection Criteria for Real Estate Professionals

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cyber location location locationThe online real estate marketplace has transformed the real estate marketing landscape. Buyers are choosing to begin their searches online and engage real estate professionals after they have educated themselves and narrowed their searches to a short list of properties. The traditional geographic importance of property location is being transformed into the new reality of “cyber location, location, location.”

Successful real estate practitioners must skillfully position themselves and their listings in cyber locations that capture the attention of millions of viewers—generating interest, leads and sales. With over 708,000 electronic real estate marketplaces to choose from, agents and brokers should review options and choose wisely with an eye toward maximum impact for every marketing dollar invested.

In a recent RisMedia article, Lisa Barrentine, President and CEO of First Preston HT, shares insights on the next opportunity in cyber location. She suggests that online real estate databases are no longer enough. As educated consumers continue to expect convenience, transparency and smart use of technology; she recommends cyber-savvy real estate professionals consider using search platforms that not only offer online shopping options, but online offer submission, real-time negotiation and offer management as well.

Check out the RisMedia article, Cyber Location, Location, Location: It’s a Market Reality for tips on how to choose your cyber tools wisely.

1March

Changing Times Demand Sharper Tools

BidSelectIn 2001, 48 percent of buyers learned about the home they chose to purchase through a real estate agent, while only eight percent found their home on the Internet.

In 2011, the Internet surpassed real estate agents as the primary source where buyers find the home they ultimately purchase according to data from the National Association of Realtors™ 2011 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers.

Today’s homebuyers follow a self-directed path during initial stages of their home search. They typically select a real estate professional only after narrowing options to a target list of properties. Convenience and computer savvy consumers continue to drive the increased use of the Internet for real estate sales and marketing. The best marketing tools must factor in new homebuyer behavior patterns.

First Preston HT announced today the unveiling of the new look and enhanced marketing platform, BidSelect® for real estate agents to use in buying, selling and leasing properties. Since its inception in 2004, BidSelect has developed a base of 350,000 registered buyers and received over one million offers, resulting in the sale of over 200,000 properties.

Until now BidSelect was limited to owners of large inventories of properties such as financial institutions, government entities and portfolio investors.  For the first time, this powerful marketing and offer management platform is now available to individual real estate professionals, offering two levels of benefits as described below.

BidSelect® Benefits

  • Free Benefits: Registration is free to Agents. All homebuyer tools are also free.  Agents may present properties on BidSelect in five channels:  Resale, Short Sale, Foreclosure, Rental and New Construction.
  • Expanded Benefits: For a minimal fee of $99/year, agents receive expanded benefits to boost their current marketing strategy including:
  1. Personalized Listings
  2. Promotion to National Network of Registered Buyers
  3. Lead Generation Tools
  4. Buyer Referrals
  5. Priority Placement of Listings
  6. Featured Property Placements
  7. Offer Management Options

More Details

For more full details visit www.Bidselect.com or contact us at sales@BidSelect.com.

Use BidSelect to Increase Your Sales

BidSelect provides homebuyers the convenience, information and independence they prefer in the initial phases of the home search. With over 20 million page views in the past 12 months alone, listing your properties on BidSelect will drive market awareness.  If you choose the expanded benefits, offers may be submitted, negotiated and managed online anytime.

19March

BidSelect targets local buyers with featured properties

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With so many buyers starting their home search online, its critical for listing agents to market properties with a solutions provider that can serve up relevant information to the buying community.  With this in mind, BidSelect has implemented technology so that featured properties displayed on the home page are more relevant to the end user.  In addition, they have expand the number of featured properties providing greater opportunity for sellers to increase traffic to their listings.

Visit www.bidselect.com to see the new home page changes.

17August

BidSelect supports Apple Safari & Google Chrome

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BidSelect has historically supported a conistent experience for users of two major browsers, Microsoft Internet Explorer and Mozilla Firefox.  New technology and the growth of new competitors in the browser market have increased the need for BidSelect to expand its compatibility to include Apple Safari and Google Chrome.

If you’re like me, you potentially have multiple browsers installed on your PC or Mac.  Or, maybe you have a favorite that has not been supported in the past.  Not having to guess which browser I should use to navigate a website is a HUGE benefit.  So if you’re a Mac user or a new browser adopter and had previously written us off, come back to www.bidselect.com and try us again!!

“We’re adopting technologies that make your online home shopping & buying experience the best it can be!”

10August

BidSelect Adds Video Training

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Help comes in all forms … live customer service, written documentation through FAQs or user guides, and the ever popular online video.  BidSelect.com now offers all three!!

Visit www.bidselect.com and look for the Learning Center link in the upper righthand corner.  BidSelect currently offers how-to videos related to registration and offer submission.  On-demand learning through videos is here to stay, and BidSelect is prepared to ride the wave.  If you’re new to BidSelect, its a must see.  If you’re a veteran, you might learn something new.  Visit often to view new videos.

Share your thoughts by posting a comment to this blog post.  Or, you can visit www.bidselect.com and comment directly through the website.  Just click on the Dialog link in the lower righthand corner.

“Here’s to a more educated user community”.

7August

BidSelect Changes Map Provider

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Buyers who map a listing found on BidSelect.com will now be directed to Google Maps.  We are very excited about this enhancement to our site.  Google is known for its innovative mapping features and we are proud to extend these to BidSelect site visitors.

Available features through BidSelect include:

  • Satellite & Terrain – View alternate versions of a map.
  • Street View – View a thumbnail image of the property, where available.
  • Driving Directions – Get directions to a listing from any location.
  • Search Nearby – Plot points of interest, e.g. schools, daycare, shopping, gas and banking.
  • Send Map – Email the map to yourself, a buyer or a friend.

Don’t bother with a printed map that is easily lost or thrown away.  Buyers and agents need information at their fingertips.  It’s easy to send a map to your mobile device through the Send Map feature. 

You can even send a map to a GPS device.  Garmin is just one of the options, and you can watch a quick how-to video (Using Google Maps with your Garmin GPS Device) produced by the Garmin blog team.

We hope you like the new experience.  Share your comments here on my blog post, or visit BidSelect.com and click on the Dialog option in the lower righthand corner.  Here’s to better mapping!!

6August

BidSelect Search Results Get a Facelift

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Pictures are worth a thousand words … so true.  And I’m happy to say that BidSelect.com now includes thumbnail images for listings on its search results page!!  With some minor adjustments, we were able to improve the look & feel of the page and reduce the actual listing size without sacrificing too much information.  Just look at the difference …

Search Results – BEFORE 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Search Results – AFTER

 

 

 

 

 

Additional modifications and features include:

  1. Listing Details – 3 opportunities to view more details by clicking on 1) thumbnail image, 2) listing address, or 3) more details link in the comments.
  2. Comments – Only a portion of the description is displayed, giving buyers a hint of information with an easy way to view more details.
  3. Virtual Tour – A 360 degree icon indicates when there is a virtual tour available.
  4. Bid Deadline – Properties listed with an initial bid period now show a time remaining message in red.
  5. Property Type – Hover over the character and we display the definition.
  6. Pagination – Available at the top and bottom of the page.  Navigate to the << beginning or end >> of search results.  Page through results one page at a time with Previous and Next options.  Up to five (5) page links displayed at once so its easy to skip around.
  7. Sort – Options are now displayed in a dropdown field above the first listing, with an option to select ascending or descending order.

We’re confident you will like the new look, and its just the beginning of brighter days for buyers and sellers.  Share your thoughts by posting a comment to this blog post.  Or, you can visit www.bidselect.com and comment directly through the website.  Just click on the Dialog link in the lower righthand corner.  You can rate the page and/or provide comments.