Did you know that you can generate a property report using Cyberhomes? Watch this quick video for step by step directions.

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Have you ever wondered how comparable properties are used on Cyberhomes? Or maybe how you can pick and choose the best and most accurate comparables for your estimate? Watch this quick 3 minute video with Marty Frame as he covers those topics and more.

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This guest post was written by Mike Ownens, Cyberhomes Product Manager.

Its time to start looking at the bright side… Data from the Q2 09’ Cyberhomes Data Report shows that 8 cities with healthy sales volume saw positive changes in volume and median prices over the last year. That’s not many, but in this market, any signs of positive change are welcome.

The cities listed below all saw positive annual changes in number of sales and median sales prices in the first quarter of 2009, and had at least 100 sales last in the first quarter of this year (Q109) and at least 75 in the first quarter of last year (Q108). Only 8 cities from the entire country made the cut.

The top 5 all come from the San Diego area. San Diego was so depressed a year ago that a lot of cities in that area have seen big increases in number of sales, but these fortunate 5 also saw increases in median prices. San Diego was one of the first areas affected by the foreclosure crisis, it looks like it could be the first to start emerging from it as well. Interestingly, 4 of the 5 are mid-tier cities in terms of prices. The other solid performers were Gig Harbor, WA- an affluent community on the Puget Sound across the Narrows Bridge from Tacoma; Charleston, WV- the capital and largest city in West Virginia; and Sunny Isles, FL- a barrier-island town on the beaches of North Miami Beach.

It’s hard to believe, but email is starting to become a thing of the past. Social Networks are continuing to dominate online communication. Why spend time attaching a photo in an email when you could just post it to your Facebook page? Why have an email address when you can have your own personal URL?  Why email one customer about your  businesses promotions when you could tell thousands at once? Why? Why? and more Why’s? The list goes on and when you think hard you may start to wonder…dare I say it…Why even use email?  While that question may be a stretch now, soon enough it might be a question you find yourself asking others. Statistics show that Facebook is by far the most popular service for sharing content online. 24% of all content being shared is through Facebook. That easily towers over email’s 11.1%. Even Twitter, which was only started 3 years ago, is as popular of a sharing service as Email.

My point is, if your not in the loop, jump in! You may ask yourself, am I too far behind? or am I too old to start sharing on social platforms? or will the whole world constantly be tracking me? The answer is No. Social media can be utilized by all age groups and you can personally choose what you want to share and who you want to share it with. Below is a list of the top 10 social media sites that I suggest using and why.

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Over at CNET, author Don Reisinger recently covered Sites that get your home ready to sell. At the top of the list was Cyberhomes.  Don shares that visitors to Cyberhomes interested in their homes value simply need to type their address and Cyberhomes will return how much we believe the home is worth.

It was also great to hear that Reisinger recognizes home value estimates are a big part of Cyberhomes, but by no means all we have under the hood. Reisinger goes on to share that Cyberhomes “provides a listing of homes for sale in your area, where you can find ‘distressed’ homes you might be able to buy on the cheap, and neighborhood information down to income and demographic data.” Read the full story

Whether you’re new to Cyberhomes or have been a long time user, you will most likely find that Cyberhomes can facilitate all of your online Real Estate search needs. Now you may think I’m being a bit biased when I say Cyberhomes truly is the best real estate portal on the web …and you’re probably right. Regardless, you may think the same after I share my 5 favorite things about Cyberhomes.com.

The Data
At Cyberhomes, we have one of the largest compilations of Property Data. With over 100 million property, ownership, sales and mortgage records, that cover more than 85 percent of the U.S. population, Cyberhomes data is extremely reliable. Approximately 20,000 verified records are added daily in real-time.  The numbers speak for themselves. Cyberhomes data is what makes the site so valuable to it’s users. It’s accurate, informative, and trustworthy. What more could you ask for?

CyberhomesBlog
With social media guru Reggie Nicolay constantly on the ball, Cyberhomesblog.com is one of the most fun & exciting blogs surrounding the Real Estate industry. It’s an excellent spot to learn, get news, opinions, reviews, and quite frankly, be entertained while doing it. CyberhomesBlog attempts to engage users, interact with them, and share advice all at the same time. With CyberhomesBlog you can immerse yourself in anything from learning about Facebook widgets to good industry reading. You can also use the blog to learn about how to use social media to your advantage. Learn how to connect with friends or clients and reach out to them whenever you need to through social networks. CyberhomesBlog also features tons of videos that bring life to your overall experience on the site. I personally find it much easier to learn about new features (such as implementing a widget) when I can watch it be done. Aside from what I have already mentioned, the blog has many more tools and features for you to dive into.

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It’s no secret; we’ve been busy with the release of our new market forecast report. We’ve already received some great press from sites like Bankrate, L.A. Times and CNN Money. And last week we released another component that I’m sure you’ll like.  We’re calling it the market forecast indicator and it can be added to any website or blog for free.

What’s The Market Forecast Indicator?
The Cyberhomes Market Forecast Indicator provides a 12-month local real estate market projection, right on your website.  By placing a tiny snippet of code on any page of your site, you can add value for your visitors and improve your site stickiness.

The indicator also works with our co-brands.  If you’re not already aware, cobrands are a free version of Cyberhomes that can be customized with your sites header and footer. The indicator when clicked will take the user back to your cobranded version of Cyberhomes.

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Isn’t it always nice to be noticed? The National Association of Real Estate Editors took notice of Cyberhomes over the weekend, awarding us Best Real Estate Website in the organization’s 59^th annual journalism competition.

The Cyberhomes team is pleased to be honored and aims to continue and improve our consumer resources for home buyers, sellers and owners.

The awards were handed out in a ceremony at NAREE’s annual conference, held in Washington, D.C. The competition is judged by journalism faculty of the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism at Ohio University. Judges’ criteria included overall graphics presentation, clarity of writing, objectivity, originality and depth of reporting.

Cyberhomes won first prize in the category Best Web Site Solely Devoted to Residential or Commercial Real Estate and/or Home Design.

Holden Lewis, NAREE president and Bankrate.com senior reporter, spoke for the judges: “This site has excellent consumer coverage for buyers and sellers about every aspect of the home sale process. Moreover, it is well written, well designed and easy to navigate. If you’re looking for a house; you should bookmark Cyberhomes, which is, in my opinion, more informative than its competitors. In addition to looking up home listings, you can get information about neighborhoods and schools, and the site’s blog is also useful.”

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In the spirit of Twitter, we wanted to have a little fun this coming week and give away some free Market Forecast reports in a Q&A contest.  The questions will relate to Cyberhomes in one way or another.  You’ll be able to research the questions in real time.  The first tweet directed to @Cyberhomes with the correct answer will win a free Market Forecast report! ($9.99 value)

Here are the full contest details:

1. Visit Twitter.com and follow @Cyberhomes, if you’re not already.
2. Starting tomorrow (Monday, June 22nd) @Cyberhomes will tweet a question at 9am PST and again at 1pm PST every day this week (6/22-6/26).
3. The first person to tweet the correct answer as a public reply to @Cyberhomes will win a free Market Forecast full report for an address of their choosing.
4. Winners will be contacted directly in real-time by @Cyberhomes. Daily questions with correct answers, as well as the winners (twitter usernames) will be posted on the Cyberhomes Blog.

A total of 10 questions will be tweeted throughout the week (at 9am PST & 1pm PST each day- Mon-Fri)), providing 10 opportunities to win! Only one prize per person will be given, 2 winners per day!

Question 1 – 9am:Visit the blog on Cyberhomes.com and find the post about Stephen Baldwin’s home going to auction. Tweet me the URL of his home on Cyberhomes
Correct answer: http://www.cyberhomes.com/homes-nyack-ny-10960/71oldmountainrd/47483339.aspx

Winner: @lisaopolion
Question 1 participants:  @lisaoates, @Mary_R_Roberts, @Missouriagent, @DougGarner, @Wharriman, @Manseta

Question2 – 1pm: Looking at the Cyberhomes “Maps” section, names the 4 maps included in the Neighborhood Characteristics category? Tweet the answer to me.
Correct answer: Homeownership, crime, school rating, population density

Winner: @TopBrokerOC
Question 2 participants:  @Mary_R_Roberts, LaniAR, @rerockstar

Question 3 - 9am: On Cyberhomes.com in “News & Advice” we have 3 featured special reports. Tweet me the names of all 3.

Correct answer: Buyers Guide, Facing Foreclosures, School Values

Winner: @manseta
Question 3 participants:  @phildelacruz, @Robbiestern

Question 4 – 1pm: Using Cyberhomes.com, what is the 12-month change in value for Chicago, IL 60614? Tweet the answer to me.

Correct answer: -4.11%

Winner: @mattdollinger
Question 3 participants:  @KeandraSandifer, @Robbiestern, @Mary_R_Roberts, @creativelyfresh, @10KResearch, @Jeanie_NJ

Question 5 – 9am:Using the personalized Cyberhomes homepage, name all 5 widgets you can add to your page. Tweet me the answers.
Correct answer: Homes for sale, Foreclosures, Home, Neighborhood & School

Winner: @Mary_R_Roberts
Question 5 participants: @KeandraSandifer

You can’t leave without taking a minute to watch “Know Your Market”…do you recognize anyone?

It’s been very exciting at Cyberhomes over the last few weeks with the launch of our new Market Forecast report.  If you’re not already aware, the Cyberhomes Market Forecast is the only report that uses loan data, foreclosures, and defaults to project changes in your local real estate market.

The initial feedback has been great!  Recently Holden Lewis over at Bankrate.com said the Market Forecast Report was “like Carfax, but for houses.”  Holden went on to say that from the report he learned “the pace of new foreclosures in his area will remain steady over the year, but that the inventory of bank-owned homes will surge. Banks will seize homes faster than they can sell them.”

Also Les Christie, writer for CNNMoney.com, shared that Cyberhomes “introduces an element of logic to a transaction that’s often fraught with emotion.” Sharing that often homeowners act too quickly and causing them to overpay.  Having a report like the Market Forecast would give them access to information that could help.  Christie says “the market report tells them that prices may be in for a sharp fall and more homes are coming onto the market, they may slow down and make a more informed offer. If, on the other hand, the report shows the market heating up, they may conclude that a quick offer can save them some money.”

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