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Cox Media Unit Posting Home Listings, Buying Info on New Web Site

Technology is changing the way we bank, shop, communicate and even the way we buy and sell homes. A study released by the National Association of Realtors found 77 percent of buyers are using the Internet during the search.

And several area businesses are stepping up their marketing efforts to help make the sale.

Cox Communications launched a new Web site that offers listings of residential properties last month.

The GoScoutHomes.tv online site coupled with GoScout Homes, a dedicated real estate cable network, which both launched Feb. 12, aim to attract casual Web surfers to listings in a more interactive format. The programming airs 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Kelly McMackin, director of business development for advanced advertising and new media at San Diego Interconnect, a division of Cox Communications, said expanding real estate listing services to more media outlets was needed.

“We believe in a marketing mix as a great way to reach a broad base of consumers,” said McMackin. “A lot of the real estate developers, builders, as well as brokers and agents have traditionally used the newspaper, (but) newspapers have continually lost circulation and increased rates while not capturing the younger segment of the market.”

First time home buyers are clearly going to the Internet, said McMackin. The same NAR study, which was released last year, found 24 percent of home buyers first learned of the home they would eventually purchase on the Internet.

Cox anticipates running commercials on Cox digital cable to urge viewers to visit the Web site and cable channel.


Seeking Its Niche

“We are trying to fill a need in the marketplace to help the real estate community sell product faster, because clearly it is a challenging market,” McMackin said.

San Diego is one of 20 Cox media markets to launch the GoScout Homes Web site and one of 10 to launch the cable channel.

GoScout Homes on Cox cable Channel 125 showcases properties for sales, including commercial, farms, lots and residential properties.

The programming consists of virtual tours, plus financial, insurance and home improvement tips intermixed with commercials.


Local Homeownership

Meanwhile, the Building Industry Association of San Diego County and the San Diego Association of Realtors launched a Web site March 13.

They created SanDiegoHomeOwnership.com to help home buyers take advantage of the current buyer’s market by providing information specific to San Diego as well as offer how-to advice on home buying.

“Housing market conditions have changed and there is a significant amount of confusion in the marketplace,” said BIASD President Scott Brusseau. “SanDiegoHomeOwnership.com provides neutral information in a consumer-friendly manner to ease that confusion.”

Brusseau is hopeful this site will help buyers make sound decisions about purchasing a home locally.

The local initiative is part of the California Building Industry Association’s ongoing Campaign for California Homeownership, a program established in 2005 to help promote public policies that help increase homeownership opportunities for all Californians.

Donna Morafcik, of the BIA of San Diego, said in addition to the launch of the Web site, several other media outlets would be used to offer information to home buyers. Radio and TV advertising spots will air on more than a half-dozen stations and direct viewers or listeners to the Web site.


Good Time To Buy

BIASD and the Realtors group partnered last year to educate the public on the advantages of homeownership.

“San Diego’s economy is strong and diverse with a low unemployment rate. Interest rates are still near historic lows and there are a variety of homes of all types available,” said David M. Cabot, president of the Realtors group. “The general public has more access to information about the home-buying process and Realtors are available to guide consumers through this major life transaction.”

The same study conducted by the NAR that found 77 percent of home buyers use the Internet also found nine out of 10 buyers use an agent in the search process.

The local market is not alone in moving to the Web.

A new site in Portland, Ore., focuses on identifying and selling homes with environmentally friendly features. The RMLA, the Portland area’s multiple listing service, released its latest database feature of green listings to give home buyers a resource to listings with eco-friendly features, such as solar energy systems.

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