High Tech Real Estate

How Hawaii Agents Are Using Web 2.0 Techniques

Chances are Google Video or YouTube wouldn't typically be your first stops to search for your Hawaiian dream home, but if local agents have anything to do with it, you'll start thinking of the Hawaii real estate market as a Real Estate 2.0 high tech leader, and add these types of sites to your next housing hunt. 

More agents than ever are employing high tech techniques to market property online, making it easier for buyers and sellers to connect over long distances.  With over 80% of all real estate searches now starting online, buyers are surfing not only for great real estate deals, but also demand to know almost everything about a property before they'll set up an appointment for a showing.  360 degree virtual tours, picture slideshows, video, printable property brochures, public record information, single listing websites, property blogs, the list grows each year as Hawaii's top agents take their online marketing to an entirely new level.

Check out these high tech Hawaii agents, who are using Real Estate 2.0 techniques to their fullest potential. 

1. Google & YouTube Video- A group of creative agents in Hawaii have been using hot new online video trends to get more traffic to their listings by uploading video and photo slideshows of the property for sale.  So, if you are in the market for a new and unique way to view a property in Hawaii, try searching Google Video, YouTube, Yahoo Video, and other popular video sites for Hawaii real estate.  

Click here to see sample video tours from local Hawaii agents.

If you an agent, and are interested in getting your property on Google or YouTube, we recommend PEEK VT.

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2. 360 Panoramic Tours (aka Virtual Tours)- Virtual tours have been around for a decade, but the tour viewers and features that come along with them make them a mainstay in Real Estate 2.0 technology.  Agents in Hawaii have embraced panoramic virtual tours, and many companies choose to put virtual tours on all of their listings.  With tour viewers now sporting neighborhood demographics, interactive maps to local attractions, shopping, schools, and more, the virtual tour has been reinvented as a self sustaining mini website for individual properties. 

Go to the Obeo.com site to view amazing tours of Hawaii properties. 

If you are an agent, and are interested in a Virtual Tour, we recommend Obeo.

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3. Blogging- Nothing screams Web 2.0 more than the networking phenomenon of Blogs.  Practically every human with Internet access now has a blog, or at least a MySpace page, and real estate agents in Hawaii are quickly joining in as Hawaii experts on their real estate and personal blogs.  Agents not only discuss market conditions and give good solid real estate advise to buyers and sellers, but use their everyday lives as Hawaii residents as fair game blog fodder.  Joyce Murphy, a local agent, regularly writes about her adventures in diving the Hawaiian reef as well as about how to make stellar real estate investments in Hawaii.  If you're not reading Hawaii real estate blogs, you could be missing out on valuable and breaking news in the market you are prospecting. 

Visit the Aloha Living Blog Network to find Hawaii Real Estate Bloggers.

If you are a Hawaii agent, and you're not blogging on the Aloha Living Blog Network, go here now!

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4. Agent & Broker Websites- Agent and broker websites come in all shapes and sizes, and with a myriad of features and functionality. Most offer onsite property search through the MLS, and you can surf for your Hawaiian bungalow or coffee farm from the comfort of your couch.  Some have fancy maps and driving directions. Others boast relocation guides and visitor information. It's highly recommended that you work with an agent or broker who has a strong website and web presence, and you can find agent and broker websites through basic search engines such as Google, Yahoo, and MSN.  

If you're looking for a Hawaii agent with a website, try clicking on any of the real estate banners on AlohaLiving.com, and visit one of our many sponsors.

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