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 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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Real Estate Investment
PR Newswire | October 05, 2023
Shopoff Realty Investments ("Shopoff"), a national manager of opportunistic and value-add real estate investments, announced today that the company has successfully sold its 141-unit Moss Street Townhome project to Shea Homes.
"This townhome development will be a wonderful addition to this evolving neighborhood of Chula Vista that will also soon be home to the $1 billion Chula Vista Bayfront Redevelopment Project, located less than one mile away," explained Shopoff Realty Investments President and CEO William Shopoff.
The 6.94-acre property is located in Chula Vista, California, at the intersection of Moss Street and Industrial Blvd. Formerly approved for light industrial uses, Shopoff worked diligently with the City of Chula Vista to secure project entitlements. The entitlements allow the property to be developed into a gated housing community featuring 141 three-story attached townhomes.
"Future residents will be able to enjoy the area's robust amenities for years to come, and we are proud to see this property move forward towards development, bringing some much-needed housing to the area," Shopoff added.
About Shopoff Realty Investments
Shopoff Realty Investments is an Irvine, California-based real estate firm with a 31-year history of value-add and opportunistic investing across the United States. The company primarily focuses on proactively generating appreciation through the repositioning of commercial income-producing properties, the entitlement of land assets and development projects. The 31-year history includes operating as Asset Recovery Fund, Eastbridge Partners and Shopoff Realty Investments (formerly known as The Shopoff Group). Performance has varied in this time frame, with certain offerings generating losses.
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