Information processing device and program

Abstract

To eliminate information asymmetry in real estate transactions and provide a platform that allows sellers, buyers, and real estate agents to appropriately obtain the information necessary for buying and selling. [Solution] The information processing device displays the same information on the property page for the buyer, real estate company, and buyer's brokerage company. The property page displays a list of the names of documents related to the real estate property. Each document name is accompanied by a download button that instructs the user to download the data for that document. The download button is set to be operable (active) in response to requests from the buyer's brokerage company terminal, and to be inoperable (inactive) in response to requests from the buyer's terminal or the real estate company terminal.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus and a program.

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, the information asymmetry in real estate transactions has been regarded as a problem. This information asymmetry typically means that, in the process of real estate transactions, there are differences in the quality and quantity of information and materials that can be viewed among the seller, buyer (here referring to a person considering purchase), and real estate agency, and even among real estate agencies within the same category. In fact, it is not even disclosed what kind of materials exist for a real estate property and under what circumstances they can be viewed upon request.

[0003] Due to information asymmetry, there is a risk that the seller or buyer may transact at an unduly high price, or contract without knowing hidden defects or future risks. Also, there may be unfair transactions where the seller's real estate agency discloses all information to a specific buyer's real estate agency while intentionally not disclosing information to other buyer's real estate agencies and even hiding the existence of information. In addition, in order to realize a so-called "double-sided transaction" where the seller's real estate agency is in charge of both the seller and the buyer, it may conceal information from other buyer's real estate agencies.

[0004] Also, for a buyer, selecting a suitable real estate agency from multiple real estate agencies handling properties of interest based on reliability, proposal ability, regional expertise, etc. is important from the perspective of fair and appropriate transactions. However, many buyers have little experience in real estate transactions and not only do not understand the transaction mechanism or how to choose a real estate agency, but may not even have any means to know the real estate agencies handling the property.

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0005] The objective is to eliminate information asymmetry in real estate transactions and provide a platform that allows sellers, buyers, and real estate agents to appropriately obtain the information necessary for buying and selling. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The information processing device that supports real estate transactions according to this embodiment is: A communication unit that connects via an internet line to a seller terminal relating to the seller of the real estate property, multiple buyer terminals relating to buyers considering purchasing the real estate property, multiple real estate company terminals relating to multiple real estate companies, a seller brokerage company terminal relating to the real estate company that brokers the sale of the real estate property, and a buyer brokerage company terminal relating to the real estate company that brokers the sale of the real estate property. A storage unit that stores basic information such as the address, price, and floor plan of the real estate property, identification numbers related to the seller's real estate agency and the buyer's real estate agency, file paths for each of the multiple documents related to the real estate property such as floor plans and layout drawings, and file paths for each of the multiple photographs related to the real estate property. A property details page generation unit generates a property page containing the basic information and photographs of the real estate property in response to a request from one of the buyer's terminal, the real estate company's terminal, or the buyer's brokerage company's terminal. The system comprises a property details page transmission unit that transmits the generated property page data to one of the buyer terminal, real estate company terminal, or buyer brokerage company terminal, which is the source of the request. The information displayed on the aforementioned property page is the same regardless of whether the request comes from the buyer's terminal, the real estate company's terminal, or the buyer's brokerage company's terminal. The aforementioned property page displays a list of the names of the documents related to the aforementioned real estate property. Each of the aforementioned document titles is accompanied by a download button that instructs users to download the data for that document. The aforementioned download button is set to be operable (active) in response to requests from the buyer's intermediary company's terminal, and to be inoperable (inactive) in response to requests from the buyer's terminal or the real estate company's terminal. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0007] [Figure 1] Figure 1 shows the overall system including the information processing device according to this embodiment. [Figure 2] Figure 2 shows the configuration of the information processing device shown in Figure 1. [Figure 3] Figure 3 shows the data structure of the user database stored in the memory unit shown in Figure 2. [Figure 4] Figure 4 shows the data structure of the property database stored in the memory unit shown in Figure 2. [Figure 5] Figure 5 shows the data structure of the activity record database stored in the memory unit shown in Figure 2. [Figure 6] Figure 6 is a flowchart showing the procedure for registering property information to the property database by the processor shown in Figure 2. [Figure 7] Figure 7 is a flowchart showing the process of generating and distributing property pages by the processor in Figure 2. [Figure 8] Figure 8 shows an example of the first half of a property page generated by the procedure in Figure 7. [Figure 9] Figure 9 shows an example of the latter half of the property page shown in Figure 8. [Figure 10] Figure 10 is a flowchart showing the processing procedure for handling requests for information and requests for viewings from buyer terminals or user terminals using the processor shown in Figure 2. [Figure 11] Figure 11 shows an example of an inquiry form generated by step S35 in Figure 10. [Figure 12] Figure 12 is a flowchart showing the processing procedure for handling advertising requests and viewing requests from buyer brokerage company terminals using the processor shown in Figure 2. [Figure 13] Figure 13 shows an example of an advertisement placement application form for step S47 in Figure 12. [Figure 14] Figure 14 shows an example of a viewing request form for step S47 in Figure 12. [Figure 15]Figure 15 shows an example of an activity report addressed to the buyer, generated by the processor in Figure 2. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0008] The information processing device according to this embodiment will be described below with reference to the drawings. As shown in Figure 1, the information processing device 1 according to this embodiment is a computer that provides a platform for supporting real estate transactions, and is connected via an internet line 2 to a user terminal 3 that is merely a viewer and neither a seller nor a buyer, a seller terminal 4 relating to the seller of a real estate property, a seller brokerage company terminal 5 relating to the real estate property's brokerage company, a buyer terminal 7 relating to a buyer (also called a prospective buyer) considering purchasing the real estate property, a buyer brokerage company terminal 8 relating to the real estate property's buyer brokerage company, and a real estate company terminal 6 relating to a real estate company that is neither a seller brokerage company nor a buyer brokerage company and is not registered in the property database described later.

[0009] As shown in Figure 2, the information processing device 1 has a processor 11. RAM 12, ROM 13, storage unit 14, input device 15, display 16, and communication unit 17 are connected to the processor 11 via a system bus 10. The processor 11 is composed of, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit). The processor 11 executes programs loaded into RAM 12 from the storage unit 14 and ROM 13 to perform real estate transaction support processing. RAM 12 functions as the main memory, work area, etc., of the processor 11. ROM 13 is a non-volatile memory and has the BIOS (Basic Input Output System) pre-written to it. In addition to the operating system program (OS), the storage unit 14 stores the "program for operating the real estate transaction support platform" according to this embodiment, a user database, a property database, an activity record database, and various other data. The processor 11 controls the reading and writing of this data to the storage unit 14.

[0010] The input device 15 consists of a keyboard (KB), a mouse, a touch panel or other pointing device, etc. The display 16 is typically implemented as an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display). The communication unit 17 communicates with the user terminal 3, seller terminal 4, seller's real estate agent terminal 5, real estate company terminal 6, buyer terminal 7, and buyer's real estate agent terminal 8 via the internet line 2.

[0011] Figure 3 shows an example of a user database. When a registration request is received from user terminal 3, processor 11 sends a user registration format to user terminal 3 via communication unit 17. The user registration format includes input fields for seller / buyer / brokerage user distinction, corporation / individual distinction, corporation name, name of individual or corporation representative, telephone number and email address as contact information, etc. Processor 11 issues a user ID to the user. The user ID, along with a password specified by the user or automatically issued by processor 11, constitutes an account. The seller / buyer / brokerage user distinction, corporation / individual distinction, corporation name, name of individual or corporation representative, telephone number and email address as contact information are associated with the account and registered in the user database.

[0012] FIG. 4 shows an example of a property database. When the platform receives a request to newly post real estate property information from the seller terminal 4 or the seller brokerage company terminal 5, the processor 11 issues a property ID for the real estate property and transmits a real estate property registration format to the seller terminal 4 or the seller brokerage company terminal 5. Through the real estate property registration format, text information such as the property name, address, basic information on the building area, points of interest, and seller comments provided by the seller is transmitted from the seller terminal 4 or the seller brokerage company terminal 5, and data files of various materials related to the real estate property and data files of images (photos) related to the real estate property are also transmitted. These data files are stored in the storage unit 14. The property name, address, basic information on the building area, points of interest, seller comments provided by the seller, file name (material name) and file path of the material data file, and file name (image name) and file path of the image data file are associated with the seller ID and the seller brokerage company ID and registered in the property database together with the property ID.

[0013] In addition, for a real estate company to become the buyer brokerage company for an arbitrary property, typically, the "Inquiry about the Property" button for "For Brokerage Companies" on the property page is clicked, and a request to register in the property database as the buyer brokerage company for the property is transmitted to the information processing device 1, and the platform operator approves and registers it in the property database.

[0014] Fig. 5 shows an example of an activity performance database. When there is mainly an access from the user terminal 3 to a property page (web page) regarding the real estate property, the time stamp and the IP address of the access source are registered in the activity performance database in association with the property ID of the real estate property. When there is an advertisement placement application from the buyer's brokerage company of the real estate property to real estate information sites such as SUUMO (registered trademark), Homes (registered trademark), At Home (registered trademark), etc., the time stamp, the buyer's brokerage company ID, and the name of the medium (real estate information site) where the advertisement is placed are registered in the activity performance database in association with the property ID of the real estate property. Also, when there is a request for downloading various data files from the buyer's brokerage company of the real estate property, the time stamp, the buyer's brokerage company ID, and the name of the data are registered in the activity performance database in association with the property ID of the real estate property.

[0015] Fig. 6 is a flowchart showing the procedure for registering property information in the property database by the processor 11. A request to newly post real estate property information on the platform according to this embodiment is sent from the seller terminal 4 or the seller's brokerage company terminal 5 to the information processing apparatus 1, together with seller information, seller's brokerage company information, basic information of the property (property name, address, building area, etc.), key points provided by the seller's brokerage company, text information such as seller comments provided by the seller, data files of each piece of material regarding the real estate property, and data files of each image (photo) regarding the real estate property (step S11).

[0016] The processor 11 queries the user database for the received seller's brokerage company information to determine whether the seller's brokerage company is already registered as an account (S12). If it is already registered, the process proceeds directly to step S14. If it is not already registered and is a new seller's brokerage company, the process proceeds to step S14 via step S13. The same applies to sellers. In step S13, a user ID and password are issued to the new seller's brokerage company, and the user classification, individual / corporate classification, corporate name, contact person's name, telephone number, and email address received from the seller's brokerage company terminal 5, along with the account information, are registered in the user database.

[0017] In step S14, data files and image files related to the real estate property are stored in the storage unit 14. The file names (image names) and file paths of these data files and image files are registered in the property database, and the property name, address, building area, points of interest, and seller comments provided by the seller are associated with the property ID and registered in the property database.

[0018] Seller comments are received and updated at any time from seller terminal 4. Seller comments allow sellers to frankly and specifically communicate the appealing aspects (selling points) of the property that only residents of the property would recognize, making them highly effective in facilitating sales.

[0019] Figure 7 shows the procedure for generating and distributing property pages by the processor 11. Figure 8 shows an example of a property page. When the processor 11 receives a request (S21) for the distribution of a property page relating to a real estate property (featured property) arbitrarily selected from a property list page (not shown) from the seller terminal 4, buyer terminal 7, seller's real estate agent terminal 5, buyer's real estate agent terminal 8, real estate agent terminal 6 other than terminals 5 and 8, and other user terminals 3 such as viewers, a template pre-configured for the property page is read from the storage unit 14 along with the property information of the featured property (S22, S23), and the property information is laid out according to the template to generate the property page (S24).

[0020] As shown in Figure 8, the property page displays the basic information of the featured property (property name, address, building area, price, etc.), highlights, seller's comments, images (photos) of the featured property, and a list of the names of documents related to the property.

[0021] The template for property pages is not differentiated based on the source of the request; a common template is used regardless of whether the requester is a seller, buyer, seller's real estate agency, buyer's real estate agency, or any other real estate company, or even a general user such as a viewer. In particular, it cannot be said that there is no practice of intentionally concealing documents, so disclosing a list of document names to all requesters is extremely important. Therefore, regardless of the requester, there is no difference in the information that can be viewed, and the documents they possess can be identified by their names, thus resolving the issue of information asymmetry in real estate transactions. By resolving information asymmetry, the risk of sellers and buyers trading at unfairly high prices or entering into contracts without knowing about hidden defects or future risks can be reduced, thereby promoting fair and safe transactions.

[0022] Next, the information of the requesting party is queried from the user database to determine whether the user is registered (S25) and whether they are a buyer's intermediary company (S26). If the requesting party is not registered (S25; NO), or if they are registered (S25; YES) but their user category is not a buyer's intermediary company (S26; NO), the download button accompanying each document name, which instructs the user to download the data file, is set to inactive (S27). On the other hand, if the requesting party is registered (S25; YES) and their user category is a buyer's intermediary company (S26; YES), the download button is set to active (S28). In addition to the download button, each document name also has an "Open" button that instructs the user to open and view the document data file without downloading it. The "Open" button's active / inactive setting is typically linked to the download button, but it may also be set independently of the download button, with approval from the seller or their intermediary, to allow the document to be opened even if the requesting party is not a registered user, or if the user is registered but not a buyer's intermediary company.

[0023] Property page data is typically sent to the requesting terminal as HTML code (S29).

[0024] Figure 10 shows the processing procedure of the processor 11 when it receives a request for information or a viewing request from the buyer terminal 7 or user terminal 3. Figure 11 shows an example of an inquiry form generated by the processor 11. Requests for information or viewing requests are sent from the buyer terminal 7 or user terminal 3 to the information processing device 1 by clicking the "Request Information" button or "Request Viewing" button in the "For General Buyers" section on the property page. Upon receiving the request (S31, YES), the processor 11 reads the inquiry form template for the information request or viewing request from the storage unit 14 (S32). At the same time, the property database is searched using the property ID, and the buyer brokerage company ID for the property is read from the storage unit 14 (S33). The user database is searched using the buyer brokerage company ID, and the name of the buyer company, the name of the person in charge, and the email address corresponding to the buyer brokerage company ID are read (S34).

[0025] The company name and contact person name of the buyer's real estate agency that have been read are inserted into the contact information (contact for requesting materials, contact for requesting a viewing) of the inquiry form template, and an email address is embedded, thereby generating an inquiry form for requesting materials or requesting a viewing (S35). The processor 11 reads the seller's real estate agency information for the property from the storage unit 14, compares the seller's real estate agency for the property with the buyer's real estate agency for the property, and if the buyer's real estate agency is also the seller's real estate agency for the property, the buyer's real estate agency is excluded from the contact information. This makes it possible to avoid a so-called "double-ended transaction".

[0026] The generated inquiry form data is transmitted to the information processing device 1 from the buyer terminal 7 or user terminal 3 that made the request for materials or a tour (S36).

[0027] As described above, the inquiry form sent when requesting information or a viewing will include a list of real estate agencies handling the property of interest. This allows buyers to identify multiple agencies handling the property and select one of them from the list. This is extremely convenient for buyers (general consumers) who have little experience in real estate transactions and are unfamiliar with the transaction process or how to choose an agency, or even have no way of knowing which agencies are handling the property in question. This can help revitalize real estate transactions.

[0028] Figure 12 shows the processing procedure when a request for advertising placement or viewing is received by the processor 11 from the real estate company terminal 6 or the buyer's brokerage company terminal 8. Figure 13 shows an example of an advertising placement application form, and Figure 14 shows an example of a viewing request form. By clicking the "Advertising Placement Application" button or the "Viewing Request" button in the "For Brokerage Companies" section on the property page, the request for advertising placement or viewing is sent from the real estate company terminal 6 or the buyer's brokerage company terminal 8 to the information processing device 1. Upon receiving the request (S41), it is determined whether the request is an advertising placement application or a viewing request.

[0029] When an application for advertising placement is submitted, the process proceeds to steps S42-S46, which involve registering user information and registering as a buyer's real estate agency for the property. In other words, user registration and buyer's real estate agency registration are requirements for advertising placement. On the other hand, when a viewing request is submitted, steps S42-S46 are skipped, and the process proceeds to step S47, which involves sending the advertising placement application form or viewing request form to the requester. In other words, user registration and buyer's real estate agency registration are not required for viewing requests. This allows for a balance between stimulating real estate transactions and reducing transaction security due to information dissipation.

[0030] In step S42, it is determined whether the user information of the requesting real estate company is registered in the user database. If it is registered, the process proceeds to step S45. If it is not registered, a user registration form is sent to the requesting real estate company's terminal 6 (S43), and the user information is received and registered in the user database according to the user registration form (S44). In step S45, it is determined whether the requesting real estate company is registered in the property database as a buyer's brokerage company for the property in question. If it is registered, the process proceeds to step S47. If it is not registered, the process of registering the company as a buyer's brokerage company for the property in question in the property database (S46) is performed, and then the process proceeds to step S47.

[0031] In step S48, the platform operator receives the advertisement posting application information shown in Figure 13 or the viewing request information shown in Figure 14 from the requesting real estate company's terminal 6 or the buyer's brokerage company's terminal 8. After review by the platform operator, approval is returned in step S49.

[0032] Information regarding the application for advertising the property or the request for a viewing is registered in the activity record database (S50), and at the same time, the seller terminal 4 is notified that an advertising application / viewing request has been made (S51). This allows the seller to immediately understand what kind of sales activities are being carried out and their progress.

[0033] Figure 15 illustrates a report on the progress of sales activities provided to the seller. When the seller or the seller's real estate agency clicks the "Report" button on the property page via the seller's terminal 4 or the seller's real estate agency terminal 5, a request for report provision is sent to the information processing device 1. Upon receiving this request, the processor 11 searches the activity record database using the property ID, reads the page access history, advertising application history, document download history, and viewing request history for the property, generates the report illustrated in Figure 15, and sends it to the seller's terminal 4 or the seller's real estate agency terminal 5.

[0034] The report includes a line graph showing the change in the number of accesses to the property page over time. Upon receiving the request, processor 11 accesses REINS (registered trademark), a real estate information sharing service, and obtains historical information on the number of downloads of drawing data related to the property. The change in the number of drawing data downloads over time is generated as a line graph and overlaid on the line graph showing the change in the number of accesses to the property page over time, and included in the report as information representing the inquiry status.

[0035] Furthermore, a line graph showing the change in the number of document downloads over time, along with a bar graph showing the change in the number of viewing requests over time, will be included in the report as information representing the level of interest.

[0036] Furthermore, the cumulative number of advertising requests is compiled for each media outlet and included in a report.

[0037] In this way, sellers can visualize the changes in their sales activities over time in real time through graphs.

[0038] While several embodiments of the present invention have been described, these embodiments are presented as examples only and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. These embodiments can be carried out in a variety of other forms, and various omissions, substitutions, and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. These embodiments and their variations are included in the scope and spirit of the invention, as well as in the claims and their equivalents. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0039] 1... Information processing device, 2... Internet connection, 3... User terminal, 4... Seller terminal, 5... Seller's real estate agency terminal, 6... Buyer terminal, 7... Buyer's real estate agency terminal, 8... Real estate company terminal.

Claims

1. An information processing device that supports real estate transactions, A communication unit that connects via an internet line to a seller terminal relating to the seller of the real estate property, multiple buyer terminals relating to buyers considering purchasing the real estate property, multiple real estate company terminals relating to multiple real estate companies, a seller brokerage company terminal relating to the real estate company that brokers the sale of the real estate property, and a buyer brokerage company terminal relating to the real estate company that brokers the sale of the real estate property. A storage unit that stores basic information such as the address, price, and floor plan of the real estate property, identification numbers related to the seller's real estate agency and the buyer's real estate agency, file paths for each of the multiple documents related to the real estate property such as floor plans and layout drawings, and file paths for each of the multiple photographs related to the real estate property. A property details page generation unit generates a property page containing the basic information and photographs of the real estate property in response to a request from one of the buyer's terminal, the real estate company's terminal, or the buyer's brokerage company's terminal. The system comprises a property details page transmission unit that transmits the generated property page data to one of the buyer terminal, real estate company terminal, or buyer brokerage company terminal, which is the source of the request. The information displayed on the aforementioned property page is the same regardless of whether the request comes from the buyer's terminal, the real estate company's terminal, or the buyer's brokerage company's terminal. The aforementioned property page displays a list of the names of the documents related to the aforementioned real estate property. Each of the aforementioned document titles is accompanied by a download button that instructs users to download the data for that document. The download button is set to be operable (active) in response to a request from the buyer's intermediary company's terminal, and to be inoperable (inactive) in response to requests from the buyer's terminal or the real estate company's terminal, in this information processing device.

2. The aforementioned property page displays a "Request Information" button and a "Request Viewing" button for the buyer to request information or schedule a viewing. The system further includes an inquiry form generation unit that generates an inquiry form related to the request for materials or the request for a visit in response to a request for materials or a request for a visit from the buyer's terminal following a click of the aforementioned request for materials button or the aforementioned request for a visit button. The information processing device according to claim 1, wherein the inquiry form displays a list of the buyer brokerage companies for the purpose of selectively specifying the recipient of the request for materials or the recipient of the request for a site visit.

3. The aforementioned property page displays buttons for submitting an advertisement for the aforementioned real estate property and for requesting a viewing. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: an advertising application / viewing request form transmission unit that, upon receiving an advertising application request from one of the real estate company terminals in response to a click of the advertising application button, transmits an advertising application form, requiring that the company is registered as the buyer's brokerage company for the real estate property; and an advertising application / viewing request form transmission unit that, upon receiving a viewing request from one of the real estate company terminals in response to a click of the viewing request button, transmits a viewing request form without requiring the aforementioned conditions.

4. The information processing apparatus according to claim 3, further comprising an advertising placement application / viewing request notification unit that transmits to the seller terminal a notification that an advertising placement application or a viewing request has been received.

5. A report generation unit that generates a report including the change over time in the number of downloads of the aforementioned document and the change over time in the number of requests for the aforementioned viewing, The information processing apparatus according to claim 3, further comprising a report transmission unit for transmitting the report to the seller's terminal.

6. An information processing device that supports real estate transactions, A seller terminal relating to the seller of the real estate property, multiple buyer terminals relating to buyers considering purchasing the real estate property, multiple real estate company terminals relating to multiple real estate companies, a seller brokerage company terminal relating to the real estate company that brokers the sale of the real estate property, and means for connecting to the buyer brokerage company terminal relating to the real estate company that brokers the sale of the real estate property via an internet line. A means for managing the storage of basic information regarding the address, price, floor plan, etc. of the real estate property, identification numbers relating to the seller's real estate agency and the buyer's real estate agency, file paths for each of the multiple documents relating to the real estate property such as floor plans and layout drawings, and file paths for each of the multiple photographs relating to the real estate property. A means for generating a property page containing the basic information and photographs relating to the real estate property in response to a request from one of the buyer's terminal, the real estate company's terminal, or the buyer's brokerage company's terminal, A program that functions as a means for transmitting the generated property page data to one of the buyer terminal, real estate company terminal, or buyer brokerage company terminal, which is the source of the request, The information displayed on the aforementioned property page is the same regardless of whether the request comes from the buyer's terminal, the real estate company's terminal, or the buyer's brokerage company's terminal. The aforementioned property page displays a list of the names of the documents related to the aforementioned real estate property. Each of the aforementioned document titles is accompanied by a download button that instructs users to download the data for that document. The download button is set to be operable (active) in response to a request from the buyer's intermediary company's terminal, and to be inoperable (inactive) in response to requests from the buyer's terminal or the real estate company's terminal.

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