IN THE NEWS
@properties Launches New Chicago Real Estate Website Combining Property Listings with Neighborhood Info and Hyper-local Market Data
Posted 11/04/2009Contact: Peter Olesker, @properties
polesker@atproperties.com
(312) 334-8360
@properties Launches New Chicago Real Estate Website Combining Property Listings with Neighborhood Info and Hyper-local Market Data
Website takes a consumer-centric approach to Chicago real estate with enhanced search functionality, Chicago neighborhood guides and content from all over the Web
CHICAGO -- November 3, 2009 -- @properties, the #1 independent real estate company in Chicago with over 800 agents working from Hyde Park to the North Shore, launched a new company website today at http://www.atproperties.com/. The site, which was built over a period of eight months, gives consumers exactly what they want: all of the Chicago-area real estate listings from the MLS, neighborhood information and hyper-local market data; while also providing the company and its agents with a set of digital marketing tools that will give them a competitive advantage.
Highlights of the new @properties site include:
• Chicago neighborhood guides featuring business reviews, photos, detailed school reports and hyper-local news content that give users a sense of what it is like to live in an area in which they are looking for property. Users can also view local amenities – from gas stations to coffee houses – on an interactive map.
• Neighborhood-level real estate market reports featuring median prices, days on market, list-price-to-sale-price ratios, the number of properties on the market and other statistics derived from live MLS data. The information is displayed in a way the average user can understand at a glance. Users can also subscribe to weekly market-condition reports for neighborhoods in which they are interested.
• Property searches that showcase properties in a “gallery” view enabling users to view large photos in the search-results display. Users also have the option to view properties on a map or via Google Street View.
• A customizable property search tool that allows users to draw their own search boundaries directly on an area map. The feature lets users run searches across pre-defined MLS areas without pulling in unwanted listings.
• An open house touring tool that allows users to choose the homes they wish to tour and get printable point-to-point directions.
• Email listing alerts for both new properties and property status changes, so users can monitor specific properties and market segments.
In addition, the new @properties site delivers users approximately 15,000 more listings than most other Chicago-area brokerage sites by offering a “Virtual Office” feed directly from Midwest Regional Data, Chicagoland’s MLS. All @properties agents will receive their own personal website with some of the same content and tools featured on the corporate site.
“This new website is the most advanced, most comprehensive and most user-friendly online tool for Chicago real estate. It was designed around Chicago homebuyers and sellers to instinctively deliver the content they want in a usable fashion,” said Thaddeus Wong, co-founder of @properties. “At the same time, the site will also drive business and serve as a valuable marketing resource for our agents.”
“We founded @properties nine years ago on the belief that a real estate company could deliver more value to both its agents and the consumers those agents serve. This website is a full realization of that belief,” added Michael Golden, co-founder of @properties.
About @properties
Established in 2000, @properties is the largest, independently owned real estate brokerage firm in Chicago with more than 800 licensed agents. In addition to Residential Brokerage services, @properties also operates @properties Commercial, a full-service commercial brokerage division; @properties Relocation; @properties Institutional Services Group, specializing in distressed real estate acquisition, disposition and asset-management services; @properties Property Management, a commercial and residential property management firm; and @properties Developer Services, Chicago’s leading sales and marketing group for developers of new-construction and condominium-conversion projects. The company has six Chicago-area offices: Bucktown, Lincoln Park, River North, Streeterville, Lakeview and Evanston. For more information, visit http://www.atproperties.com/.
Media Contact:
Peter Olesker, @properties
polesker@atproperties.com
(312) 334-8360
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