Online marketplace for real estate transactions

Abstract

Under an embodiment of the invention, a web site system maintains a real estate web page. The web page has an aerial image map of a geographic region that can be navigated by a user. The web site system facilitates online collaboration for real estate transactions. When the user registers, the system creates a user account for real estate information. Real estate agents and / or other real estate service providers selected by the user are granted shared access to the user's account by the web site system.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS[0001]This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60 / 580,046, filed Jun. 16, 2004, and U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60 / 649,459, filed Feb. 1, 2005, which are incorporated herein by reference.FIELD OF THE INVENTION[0002]This disclosure relates generally to methods and systems for computerized management of real estate transactions and, more particularly, relates to real estate transactions via the Internet.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0003]The real estate market is characterized by numerous inefficiencies that create problems for consumers, agents, and vendors.[0004]Consumers suffer from a lack of real estate information and tools. Although many real estate brokerages provide visibility into property listing information on their web sites, these tools remain surprisingly poor. Overall, brokerages and other online real estate companies have introduced online technology that perpetuates the agent's role...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0010]Under an embodiment of the invention, a web site system maintains a real estate web page. The web page having an aerial image map of a geographic region that can be navigated by a user. The web site system facilitates online collaboration for real estate transactions. When the user registers, the system creates an account for his real estate information. The account can include various folders for storing information about properties in which the user is interested. The user can also specify a real estate agent and / or other real estate service providers who should be permitted access to the user's account.

[0011]Under another embodiment of the invention, a web site system aids real estate transactions by maintaining a web site system that facilitates selection of a geographic region from a satellite image map. Users of the system can select data overlays to overlay on the satellite image map. The data overlays have geospatial information, such as tax parcel information, corresponding to the selected geographic region. Users of the system can select a real estate property from those shown in the selected data overlay. Users can then initiate a real estate transaction, such as a purchase, of the selected real estate property. The web site system stores information associated with the real estate transaction. The user can associate certain third parties such as real estate agents, home inspectors, and lenders with the account, thereby granting them shared access to the information and tools in the account.

Problems solved by technology

The real estate market is characterized by numerous inefficiencies that create problems for consumers, agents, and vendors.

Consumers suffer from a lack of real estate information and tools.

Although many real estate brokerages provide visibility into property listing information on their web sites, these tools remain surprisingly poor.

Residential real estate agents also suffer from numerous problems at present.

First among these is competition for consumers.

Second, agents have a very difficult time marketing themselves.

Brokerages typically do not promote one agent over another and thus expect agents to market themselves individually.

This is costly and inefficient.

Lastly, agents suffer from a lack of collaborative tools.

Agents encounter several problems during this process.

First, the leads may be very poorly qualified.

Second, the agent must expend significant time and effort to move the leads through a sales process.

Third, leads purchasing is generally costly.

At present there is no mechanism that allows consumers to evaluate the value of a given network or to perceive it as an entity that has intrinsic value.

It is very difficult, for instance, for an agent to market his or her “team” of linked professionals, and to derive additional business from the strength of the team.