In spite of all the hype for social websites, there have been a rash of noble attempts that come up short recently. No one has quite figured out the right way to start an open dialog about individual homes yet.
ShackYack, “the only real estate site where you can comment and rate the product, just like amazon, netflix, ebay etc.,” launched in late May. Apparently they have found that houses aren’t mass produced and sold by the millions like iPods and people really don’t have much to post about them. That said, part of the reluctance to comment on properties is probably the buggy interface and their newness on the market.
However! Propsmart’s interface isn’t buggy. In fact, it’s one of the best out there and they encourage comments too. But a random sampling of homes on the site shows no comments.
Why would you want to publicly comment on a house unless you’re the owner or an agent looking for leads? The house, along with your comments, is going to be off the market in a few weeks and, unless you’re an agent, you’re going to be out of the market in a short period of time too. And if you’re an agent, blogging seems like a more public and permanent way to go.
That said, Propsmart’s blogging service appears to be stillborn, with the last post being posted over 2 months ago. Even blogging systems aren’t always a hit.
I feel like I’m picking on PropSmart here, but I’m really not. Whenever you introduce new services, some will be hits and some won’t. Their search site and their interface in particular are great and they are definitely the most straight-talking real estate search company out there (possibly the only one?).
The last link is broken. I feel like the projector broke at “Snakes on a Plane.” Now I’ll never know what happened!
Galen,
Your desire for people to “comment and rate houses” is somewhat naive, if you do not see the harm that would cause to some very nice people.
Clearly I have a “spot on” opinion of every single house whether it is for sale or not. I know every house that is overpriced, and by how much. I know the house that should be sold, but that has a structural integrity problem that is not fixable, because the owner put in the wrong fix. I know the house that just sold ar $125,000 over market value and the one that will never sell unless someone buys it through Redfin.
Conversely I know an absolutely excellent house that can be had, that is not for sale.
How could I possibly post about any of that with specific reference to the actual house? How can you even conceive of such an idea?
If you owned the house, and someone said “Oh, and this one is overpriced by $800,000 (and I do know one that is), you have set the stage for that owner to lose, in their minds, that $800,000. When it eventually does sell for $800,000 less than the current asking price, which it will whether I point that out or not, then the owner will forever feel that the person who pointed that fact out, caused it to happen as in a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Even if I point out only the GREAT ones, I can’t, because my clients pay me to get those GREAT ones for them. If I blog about them and their are 4 offers as a result, then my client will pay more for that house than the would if I had kept my mouth shut.
What makes you think that those in the know can post their knowledge on these sites, without adverse consequence?
You know I love ya…but we’ve gone round on this one before…and you still don’t seem to get it. It’s like ranking girls on the beach by holding up a #3 or a #7…the girls feelings get hurt as a result, and there can be irreparable damage done.
This is why we didn’t add RATE THIS HOUSE on our website. We have a place for people to add comments and rate neighborhoods and cities- but not houses.
Homes are only on the market for a little while, and really, why would a buyer look at homes and THEN go online to leave comments?
This is why we didn’t add RATE THIS HOUSE on our website. We have a place for people to add comments and rate neighborhoods and cities- but not houses.
Homes are only on the market for a little while, and really, why would a buyer look at homes and THEN go online to leave comments?
Ardell, I don’t want people to “comment and rate houses.” The people of ShackYack and Trulia do. I think it’s a dumb idea.
That’s why it’s in quotes – “comment and rate houses” is what ShackYack says on their website. I have no affiliation with ShackYack whatsoever.
When I say that no one has figured out a way to open dialog about homes on their website, I’m leaving open the possibility that someone will figure it out, but I really don’t think anyone will.
Thanks for the catch, Greg. The link is fixed now.
Not only has no one figured it out, I don’t think anyone “should”. As Ardell points out, I don’t really think it’s in anyone’s best interest to have anonymous Internet strangers making comments about your property that will be permanently archived on the web.
It’s bad enough when sites like amazon have fake good/bad reviews (like when they discovered authors were giving themselves good reviews and their competitors bad reviews), but that’s a $10 book. Consider all the money eBay has to spend combatting fake positive feedback/sock puppet bidding – and they still have plenty of fraud.
Can you imagine the liability when you discover that competing agents or agencies have been bad-mouthing your $500,000 house online? Or pumping up their own listings with fake testimonials? It’s a bad idea all around.
It also reminds me of many of the ideas I’ve heard from “Web 2.0” Real estate companies – they all sound “super neat” and “keen” if you don’t think through the consequences. Like allowing “prospective buyers” to send letters or emails to people whose homes are not for sale. I’ve heard that described as “awesome” – but as someone with a home not for sale I think it’s a (freaking) nightmare – the last thing I want is to be inundated with more spam.
Editor NOTE: Cricket…had to edit you comment slightly…remember, there’s a lady “in the room”. ARDELL
Cricket! You reminded me of a great tip for buyers.
You go to an Open House and like it and want to buy it directly from the listing agent to save money. You know you can’t get any “straight scoop” there (unless it’s me, of course 🙂 so what do you do?
You go to ALL of the Open Houses in the same price range nearby and say to the agent, I kind of like this one but I also like a property I just saw at 123 Great Street over there.
That agent will tell you EVERYTHING BAD they can figure out about the other house, to get you to like the one they are in. Great source of info! I do it myself as an agent when I’m treading in unknown waters. I’ve done it myself as a buyer when relocating.
Trust me…it works like a charm. If they have nothing to say, it’s because they don’t know nuttin’…move on to the next house.
Cricket! You reminded me of a great tip for buyers.
You go to an Open House and like it and want to buy it directly from the listing agent to save money. You know you can’t get any “straight scoop” there (unless it’s me, of course 🙂 so what do you do?
You go to ALL of the Open Houses in the same price range nearby and say to the agent, I kind of like this one but I also like a property I just saw at 123 Great Street over there.
That agent will tell you EVERYTHING BAD they can figure out about the other house, to get you to like the one they are in. Great source of info! I do it myself as an agent when I’m treading in unknown waters. I’ve done it myself as a buyer when relocating.
Trust me…it works like a charm. If they have nothing to say, it’s because they don’t know nuttin’…move on to the next house.
Galen,
You and your commenters make very good points about the nebulous value of commenting on properties. We put property comments in PropSmart last December because it seemed like the “right thing to do,” but we guessed that uptake would be slow and may never happen due to the conflicts of interest and motivation you describe. If the non-trend continues, we’ll quietly remove the commenting function and nobody will notice.
Regarding property ratings, that’s a popular feature of PropSmart, and is useful to the individual home shopper to save and rank her homes of interest. We do not display an “average rating” on properties, because to do so would carry the same negative incentives for the user who doesn’t want others to know about the “good ones.” But the data points we’re collecting will have far-reaching value to provide “homes of potential interest” to a user, like “if you liked these, you may also like this one.” This application would help all and hurt none.
Keep up the great coverage of our space!
Ron, I think you have a hit with your property rating system and I think you understand the whys of it very well. Saving and ranking properties to aid your memory is a great way to go. And using that data to add “you might like this…” functionality is great.
You have a good service and you’re trying new things. Keep up the good work.