You may have noticed a new masthead on my blog --- HarrisonburgHousingToday.com.  For those who might wonder, I made this change to more accurately represent the information presented on my blog.

It's the end of an era, I suppose, as for the first nine months of this blog, it was known as...
 "Coffee With Scott :: Scott P. Rogers' Caffeinated Real Estate Blog"



I decided that my blog's old identity suggested that this source of local real estate information was all about Scott.  In reality, it's about keeping you informed with the latest market updates, analysis and commentary about real estate in Harrisonburg and Rockingham County.

One final coffee-related note --- as previously mentioned on my blog --- if you're interested in discussing any of the topics on this blog, or the details of your specific real estate situation, I am more than willing to treat you to a cup of coffee (or tea) at your favorite coffeeshop.  Call, e-mail, or text me, and we'll set a day and time....

Call > 540.578.0102
E-mail > scott@cbfunkhouser.com
Text > 540.578.0102

I have had several people ask me this lately --- people who are planning to move to the Shenandoah Valley, and have been reading my blog to better understand the local real estate market.  These two blog readers asked whether they could search for properties for sale on my blog.

Can you?  You bet!

From my blog, you can click on the "Searching" tab on the top menu bar.  (Or, since you're reading this post, you can click on the search image to the right).  My hope is that you'll find that searching for homes in Harrisonburg and Rockingham County has never been easier.  We give you quite a few search options:
sdfs

• New Listings
• Open Houses
• Quick Search (Address, MLS#, Subdivision, Listing Agent)
• Power Search (lots of options!)
  
• Community Search (School District, City/Town, Zip Code)
  

These days, most real estate web sites allow you to view properties listed by any agent or company in the area.  My web site works this way --- when you are searching for properties, you won't just find properties being marketed by Coldwell Banker Funkhouser Realtors.

But what you see on a Realtor's or Brokerage's web site is a subset of the information that is in the MLS (multiple listing service).  Here's an example of what you would see for the property located at 409 Diana Court --- a spacious, like new duplex with 1900+ square feet on the south end of Harrisonburg.



But perhaps you would like more information about a property that you are looking at online.  If so --- just e-mail me (scott@cbfunkhouser.com) or call me (540-578-0102), and I'd be happy to provide you with the fuller report on the property available through the MLS.  Here's what that looks like...



The information you find on my web site, or any other public web site, is limited to the fields that our local Realtor association allows us to display on a public web site.  The other details can certainly be helpful, so please e-mail (scott@cbfunkhouser.com) or call (540-578-0102), if you'd like to see the full report.

OH --- and if you're looking for even MORE information, don't forget about the many online resources for researching properties in Harrisonburg and Rockingham County.

You can certainly e-mail me (scott@cbfunkhouser.com), or call me (540-578-0102), but now you can also chat with me from my blog. Just look for my chat "widget" in the right column on my blog (similar to the image in this post).

I'm not always online, but when I am, I'd be happy to talk to you about the Harrisonburg real estate market, the buying or selling process, or anything that would be helpful to you.

I have already had a few great conversations with people over the past few weeks since I have added this functionality. One such person enjoyed that they could ask me a question rather anonymously. You can type your name in the bottom of the chat box (where it says "Your nickname") if you'd like, but you certainly don't have to.

Sometimes we'll agree that it makes more sense to continue the conversation by phone or e-mail, but I hope you will feel welcome to use this chat functionality to get a quick answer to a question or to strike up a conversation about the market.

In a comment on a recent blog post, Josh stated:

"So when I was searching for my place, I rarely used realtor's websites.I stuck to hrar and realtor.com. Do most of your home buyers find your listings through your website?"

I find it fascinating whenever I have the chance to learn about which web site or web sites people use to search for homes in the Harrisonburg area. Here's why I find it interesting . . .

Some people (like Josh) don't want to use a particular company or agent's web site -- they will often use www.hrar.com, or www.realtor.com -- but I'm not sure exactly why. In the past, you would only find that company or agent's listings on their web site --- but now most company and agent web sites will allow you to search all homes currently on the market.

Josh (and others) -- help me out here . . .

1. Would you feel an obligation to use the services of a company or agent if you used their web site?

2. Do you wonder if you are really seeing all of the listings on their web site?

3. Do you wonder if the company or agent's listings will be given preferential ranking on their web site?

4. Do you find www.hrar.com, or www.realtor.com easier or more enjoyable to use for finding properties?

5. Is there something else that I am missing?

Have you checked out the power search on this web site? 

You can quickly and easily search for homes based on:
      - single family vs. detached
      - list price
      - bedrooms
      - bathrooms
      - square footage
      - age of home
      - number of acres
      - geographical area
      - elementary school
      - high school

But now, you can also search by keyword! 
Try typing in words such as:
      - pool (232 results)
      - porch (318 results)
      - "closing costs" (80 results)
      - "bonus room" (59 results)
Hopefully this will be a helpful new way to search for homes currently offered for sale.

Additionally, don't forget some of the other great features of the power search, such as the ability to see your search results as you refine your search criteria. 

And, there are five different property types that can be searched (residential, land, multi-family, farm and commercial). 

AND, in addition to the Power Search, don't forget to check out Quick Search, Community Search, New Listing Search, and Open House Search.

As an aside, if you have an idea for a way to make this web site's search functions easier to use, or more powerful or flexible, please leave a comment on this post, or send me an e-mail at scott@cbfunkhouser.com.

Have you ever driven by a house for sale and wondered about the price or size of the home? 

In the past, if brochures weren't available by the curb, you would have likely tried to memorize the street address, or jotted it down somewhere to look up the details online when you returned home, or to the office.

You no longer have to wait --- you can have instant gratification! 

Inspired by Verizon Wireless's recent expansion of their EVDO network, I spent some time this past weekend building a mobile search platform. 

On a web-enabled mobile phone, you can now quickly access the details of a property-for-sale, searching by street address, subdivision, or agent name. 

Are you ready to start prowling your favorite neighborhoods?  Just bookmark this address: http://m.scottprogers.com (My URL preceded by a "m." for mobile).

From having talked to many of my clients about this over the past few months, I think I have covered the top few search terms that would be necessary to pinpoint a property --- and I think I have some helpful information displayed when you view a property result.  However, feel free to let me know if you have an idea for another helpful way to search while on the road.

Do I know you? 

It has been great to have e-mails and comments on my blog from people that I know --- and also from people that I don't know at all.  My intent for my real estate blog is to provide a place for real estate related issues and trends to be discussed in our community.  So . . . even if I don't know you, feel free to e-mail me a question, or add a question or thought in the comments section of this, or any other post. 

Do you know me?

Some of you do --- others have never met me.  Hopefully, this blog allows you to feel like you are getting to know me better --- and to know what I think and feel about our local real estate market, parts of the real estate transaction, etc. 

To take it one step further, I added two videos to my web site today (introducing the site, as well as the searching section of my site).  You'll find these videos embedded below, as well, and I welcome your feedback.  They are, perhaps, a bit on the "serious and professional" side --- so in future videos, I'll try to let a little more of my personality shine through. 

Despite their imperfections, I hope these videos allow you to get to know me a little better.  And, as the name of my blog implies, if you'd like to get together for "Coffee with Scott" some day, just drop me an e-mail, or call me at 540-578-0102.

All About My Web Site . . .


 

Searcing On My Web Site . . .

If you're reading my blog in a browser, as opposed to in a rss reader, you'll always see a property in the upper right corner of my blog.  It is labeled as a "Top Property" with a number beside it --- and several of my blog readers have asked what this is all about.  Now you'll know . . .

Coldwell Banker Funkhouser Realtors operates over 60 web sites with property listings --- this includes our company web site, and a web site for each agent in our company.  Each day, consumers perform thousands of property searches on all of these sites combined.

We keep track of which properties are being viewed, and each night we sort through all of the properties on the market to find the 100 properties that consumers have viewed most frequently in the most recent 30 days.

Curious to see how these properties rank?  Visit my blog, and click on the button next to the "Top Property" section.  You'll be able to see a list of the top 100 most viewed properties.  Enjoy!