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Cyber Shopping

By Cindy Hodnett
HomePlace Writer

According to the 2007 National Association of Realtors Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers, 84 percent of people looking for a new residence used the Internet to search for a home. After searching the Web for potential properties, three out of four buyers drove by or viewed a home that they first found online, and buyers across the board agree that the Internet is a "very useful" tool when searching for a home.

Savvy real-estate companies realize that the Internet is here to stay as a home-marketing tool, and many have created comprehensive Web sites to assist their clients with a property search. However, Prudential Carolinas Realty is taking the technology even further and expanding its Web site to help buyers and sellers have even more access to homes, land and businesses.

"Consumers are going to continue to use the Internet as a primary source for house-hunting because it provides an easy way to find homes in their price range," said Prudential President Tommy Camp. "When consumers visit our Web site, we want to provide a user-friendly experience with local real-estate information they can trust."

Prudential Carolinas Realty representatives state that all PCR properties are marketed in a variety of media to attract buyer attention from several sources. Prudential agents place their listings on more than 25 popular housing Web sites, including Yahoo!, Google, Realtor.com, MSN's Real Estate section and AOL Real Estate. Prudential properties also have their own home page on the company Web site at www.PruCarolinas.com, and this page provides extensive information about the property.

"By sending the properties that we market to these sites, we reach buyers locally and nationally, 24/7," Camp said. "This gives our properties more exposure and provides useful information for buyers searching on a variety of Web sites to find a home."

Prudential's new Web site will launch later this month, and representatives say the site will feature "more robust search capabilities, regularly updated community information, and pages that are easy to navigate and visually appealing." The "One Search" feature allows users to use an interactive map to find properties that meet their specific criteria and see the results on one page, while "My Home Finder" allows the consumer to save individual properties and get e-mail updates when new properties are listed that meet their needs. Under the "Community Information" section, Web site users will find information about the surrounding area where a home is located.

"We understand that knowing more about a community plays a large role in the decision to buy a home," said Prudential's Senior Vice President of Sales Rod Eller. "That's why we are going to provide local information and local events on our Web site — to give buyers a better idea of what that community is like. Additionally, everyone can use this section to keep track of local community events.

"We know that consumers want to find information quickly when they come to a Web site," Camp said. "So we designed the new PruCarolinas.com to have one-click access to everything a consumer is looking for, especially the search function."

The new www.PruCarolinas.com Web site is scheduled to launch later this month. For more information, call any Prudential Carolinas Realty branch.