Real Estate Advice
PR Newswire | October 25, 2023
Zillow is launching a big update to the look and feel of for-sale property listings on its website, improving home shoppers' experience with a more intuitive and simplified layout.
The enhanced design of for-sale property listings on Zillow.com offers a wider, single-scroll format, making it easier for home shoppers to find key information, such as square footage, the Zestimate feature, lot size and home type. The new layout also introduces a media section at the top of the page that better showcases photos and 3D tours. By clicking on a photo, the media section expands, providing a full-page, magazine-style layout for seamless navigation through the rest of the home's photography.
"The new design delivers a fun and efficient way to browse homes on the Zillow website, making it easier for home shoppers to navigate and process information," said Jenny Arden, chief design officer at Zillow. "We introduced a wider layout for images, larger fonts for the most important facts and a clearer articulation of what makes the home special to help our users quickly understand if the home is right for them."
Zillow's app updates: Navigate with ease and simplify financing with the Home Loans tab
In addition to the redesign on the Zillow website, for-sale property listings on the Zillow app (iOS) are also receiving an update. This new look minimizes excessive scrolling by allowing users to more easily find the information that matters the most to them, whether that's home facts and features, a cost calculator or the Zestimate history.
When viewing a for-sale listing on the app, users will see a new look that presents the home details categorized into sections such as "What's Special,"' "Market Value," "Monthly Cost" and "Neighborhood." Users can click into particular sections of interest to find more details. This new look will be available before the end of the year on the Zillow iOS app.
Zillow is also introducing a new "Home Loans" tab on the Zillow app to help shoppers become buyers. Users can now easily figure out their budget, connect with a lender, get prequalified with Zillow Home Loans℠, and track their loan status — all in one place.
"Financing is a critical part of the home-buying process, and 60% of buyers say setting their budget is their first step when buying a home. With this update, we're helping the millions of people browsing the Zillow app better understand what they can afford within their budget and see a clear path toward getting the mortgage they need," said Matt Daimler, senior vice president of product at Zillow. "We're already seeing an impact: Customers are saying it's easier than ever to access and use our financing tools and get prequalified with Zillow Home Loans."
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Real Estate Investment
Globe Newswire | October 12, 2023
SRS Real Estate Partners today announced an expansion of its industrial services to Miami with the addition of a veteran three-person team. Wayne Schuchts will lead SRS’ industrial practice in Florida and is joined by Andrew Lehrer and Michael Palmer. The team will focus on representing owners, tenants, and investors of industrial property throughout Florida.
“The addition of this team and the creation of a Miami office will be a game changer in Florida for SRS,” said Chris Maguire, SRS Chairman and CEO. “We have been looking for the right opportunity to enhance our capabilities in Orlando, Tampa and Fort Lauderdale, and adding this seasoned industrial team will make a significant impact in the state.”
This is the second industrial team to join SRS in the last month. In early September the company announced a significant expansion that included new team members in Atlanta and Southern California.
“Wayne, Andrew and Michael are a fantastic addition to our industrial team,” said Brant Landry, SRS Industrial Managing Principal. “They have an extensive track record throughout Florida providing exceptional services for their clients, and they give SRS a strong presence in the state. Wayne and I worked together at the Staubach Company previously and I’m looking forward to teaming up with him again.”
Schuchts, previously a partner at Avison Young, joins SRS as Managing Principal and brings more than three decades of commercial real estate experience. Specializing in industrial property transactions for institutional investors and corporate users, he has negotiated more than $5 billion and 12 million square feet of transactions, including 60-plus transactions involving properties greater than 100,000 square feet.
“The opportunity to partner with Brant again as well as Chris Maguire and the rest of the SRS team to lead the industrial practice in Florida is the perfect fit,” said Schuchts. “The culture, client-first mindset and high-level professionals at SRS provide the ideal platform to serve best-in-class clients.”
Lehrer joins SRS as a Vice President with the industrial team. He was previously with Flagler Global Logistics, the largest industrial developer in Florida. With almost 20 years of commercial real estate experience, Lehrer has been involved in more than $2 billion in transactions and has handled 11 million square feet of institutional product for landlords. His experience includes build-to-suits, master-planned business park leasing, third-party logistics, sale-leasebacks, manufacturing facilities, and cold storage properties. He focuses on tenant and landlord representation, as well as advising developers in South Florida.
Palmer also joins SRS as a Vice President in industrial. He previously worked with Schuchts at Avison Young. Palmer has seven years of commercial real estate experience, specializing in industrial property transactions on behalf of institutional investors, family offices and corporate occupiers. He earned his SIOR designation and CCIM designation in 2018.
SRS Industrial was formed in April 2022 when Managing Principal Brant Landry and a team of industrial specialists joined SRS to help the firm expand on its retail foundation and offer more extensive commercial real estate solutions to tenants, owners and investors.
The SRS Industrial team works directly with retailers, distributors and manufacturing companies to support their evolving needs for industrial space, while also serving more traditional industrial clients through tenant and owner services, capital markets, and development services. The team has logged more than 1,000 transactions totaling $92.8 billion in transaction value.
About SRS Real Estate Partners
Founded in 1986, SRS Real Estate Partners is building upon its retail foundation to provide extensive commercial real estate solutions to tenants, owners, and investors. Headquartered in Dallas, with more than 28 offices in the U.S., SRS has grown into one of the industry’s most influential and respected leaders. Our commitment to excellence is strengthened by our Guarantee of Value and our success is measured in the achievement of our clients’ objectives, satisfaction, and trust.
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Real Estate Technology
PR Newswire | October 17, 2023
JPAR, a leading name in real estate, is proud to announce a groundbreaking partnership with CubiCasa, a pioneer in floor plan technology. The partnership marks one of CubiCasa's first partnerships with a residential real estate brand. The companies have joined in executing a vision to bring a floor plan to every listing.
In a survey by the National Association of REALTORS®, it was revealed that 67% of home buyers consider floor plans "very useful" in their property search, yet this essential feature is often overlooked in listings. Following photos and listing data, a floor plan is the most coveted data asset for consumers.
"We want every interaction with one of our agents and listings to be a quality experience for consumers. This partnership empowers our sales professionals to meet the demands of modern buyers by providing them with the information they need to make some of the largest decisions in their lives," said Daniel Butbul, VP of Operations at JPAR's Affiliated Network. "Our goal is to have floor plans available on 90% of JPAR listings by the end of 2024," added Butbul.
Effective immediately, agents may now register for a JPAR-sponsored CubiCasa account, accessible through the JPAR® OneStop HUB.
"It's incredibly exciting to work with JPAR® on this project. They share our vision of a better real estate search experience powered by floor plans being attached to every listing, and our technology is the world's single-easiest and most-scalable solution to creating floor plans," according to Jeff Allen, President, CubiCasa.
The CubiCasa app streamlines the process of creating floor plans for listings, requiring just 5-10 minutes to scan the property using almost any mobile device. Agents can then upload the scan on-site or at their convenience. CubiCasa's advanced AI technology transforms the scan into a professional-grade floor plan, which is delivered within 6-24 hours, available with and without measurements.
About JPAR - Real Estate
JPAR – Real Estate is a full-service real estate brand and franchise platform offering a highly competitive transaction fee-based model and agent-centric culture. The JPAR® platform provides agents seven (7) days-per-week support, a comprehensive tech stack, marketing, lead generation, training, and mentoring. JPAR® affiliated owners benefit from compliance review, 1-on-1 consulting, recruiting support, and a peer network of influential industry leaders. The company boasts more than 4,000 agents operating in 65 offices across 27 states, Washington, D.C. and closes over $8B annually in sales volume.
About CubiCasa
Headquartered in Oulu, Finland, CubiCasa is the global market leader in mobile indoor scanning and is known for its fast and easy-to-use floor plan app on the App Store and Google Play Store. CubiCasa's technology is used in 160 different countries and has helped create over 1 million floor plans to date. CubiCasa provides technology for the real estate, appraisal, and mortgage industries and is on a mission to digitize real estate.
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