Realtors so often create Web sites for themselves that advertise their credentials, their contact information, and maybe even some of their listings, along with some nifty, eye-catching graphics. But they often miss the boat on one crucial element: the inclusion of local information.

Picture yourself as a homeowner who's just placed your Los Angeles-area home on the market. Your spouse has accepted a job offer in St. Louis, and you're attempting to find yourself a Realtor in your new hometown via the Internet. And, since you've never been to St. Louis, you'd like to find out a few things about this new place before you move there.

This may sound simplistic, but often, it's quite true: Will the consumer be more interested in a Realtor with great credentials on his site, or in a Realtor who possesses a keen knowledge of her market and passes that information along to the consumer on her site? The presence of such data as local school information, average home cost, weather, local resources, entertainment, cultural offerings and more can do much to ease your relocating consumer's mind. You're allaying her fears, and in the process, you're showing her that you know your market and you're on her side. You've designed a user-friendly, thorough Web site that not only helps your potential client, but also endears you to that client, as well. Your site will remain in the consumer's mind -- and that's invaluable for any Realtor wishing to represent herself or himself in the best possible manner and maximize the advantages of online advertising.

St. Louis real estate companyJanet McAfee Inc., representing homes ranging from $100,000 to $3 million, has succeeded at doing just that. McAfee's Web site is well worth a review because it's so effective. As the president and founder of her real estate firm, Janet McAfee Weakley presides over a staff of many successful agents. She clearly knows her market, having run her company for nearly 24 years, and it shows in her Web site.

For starters, even the company overview link is a cut above other sites. Instead of merely stating a bland corporate mission statement, McAfee has wound her company's philosophy around a series of personal quotes from herself. She elaborates in detail how her agents are trained and clearly conveys her company's points of difference. This section manages to be informative without taking on the overly lofty tone of most corporate overviews. Wound around color photographs, it's personal and goes a long way toward building consumer confidence.

McAfee's site allows consumers to do a "quick search" of St. Louis residential communities. The various communities are listed on a page, and consumers merely click on the ones they'd like to research. Clicking on a community will bring you the listings McAfee has in that region. Clicking again will bring you a top-quality color photo of the home, plus an extremely detailed outline of the property including such details as elementary school and high school districts, whether an association fee must be paid, amount of taxes, on which floors the various rooms in the home are located, and directions to the home. In the past, Realtors have served as the gatekeepers of such information as directions to their listings. It's clear Ms. McAfee realizes that some consumers appreciate the ability to drive by a home on their own and do a little homework before they contact a Realtor. The trend is obviously reversing, and Realtors are beginning to discover that the more they empower consumers with information, the more successful they're going to be in the long run.

The best aspect of this site is the "Explore St. Louis" link, which enables you to select a general St. Louis overview or one of many suburban communities for more information. Selecting the community of University City produced color photographs, captions and an extremely detailed description of this area. I was told what the selling points of the community were, where to go for cultural attractions and entertainment, what the homes in the region looked like architecturally, and where the community's parks were located. At the bottom of the page, I was told which school district served this community and was provided with two links, one to McAfee's listings in University City, and the other to a map of the region.

Realtors, if you're considering building or revamping your Web site, here's a site from which you can take a few good notes. While credentials are certainly important for any Realtor, perhaps even more important is your knowledge of your potential customers' needs. Homebuying is an emotional experience, and information is the cure for any nervous consumer. If you're a walking encyclopedia on your community, your Web site is your opportunity to show off. An informed consumer is a happy consumer -- and a potential client for you.

Published: December 29, 1998

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