My talked was titled, ‘Neighbourhood Experts: not just Realtors ® any more’ and focused on how Realtors could help home buyers find more information about neighbourhoods; specifically in the days of iPhones and mobile search. The main part of the discussion focused on the Realtor being the ’source of the source’ (that line was suggeseted by one of the participants). Instead of just telling people where the best coffee shops, parks, etc are in the neighbourhood they can tell people where to go and find the information. Site like, of course, HomeZilla, Yelp, The Fraser INstitute for Ontario, etc.

It was great to meetup with some long time Twitters like: @oakvillerealtor (who is WAY taller than expected), @HeyAddy and @RichardWontorra . It was also good to catch up with some of the usual suspects like: @GeorgeONeill, and @chrisnewell, and BuzzBuzzHome .

Overall, the biggest surprise at #rebcto was the level of openness by Realtors. People were completely honest with the problems they had with social media. The result was fantastic as many people share their stories of success and failure which allowed everyone to learn a lot.

I can’t wait for the next Toronto RE BarCamp…

When you view a slideshow of listing photos on HomeZilla there will be ‘thumbs up | thumbs down’ buttons which allow you to cast your vote. Then starting on May 7th we will have the ‘Top 10 Best’ and ‘Top 10 Worst’ listing photos for the past week.

Check out the new feature on this listing by Roz Prince at 58 Sinclair St, Dartmouth_NS.

What do you think of the new feature? Like it? Love it? We want your feedback.

Please take a look…

Did we miss anything in the video? What else should be featured for The Beaches?

We love this video…and hope you do as well.

Today we want to present you with a video of Roncesvalles. A beautiful ‘hood on the west side of Toronto.

Check out the video version of this video, we would love your feedback!
All real estate agents who retweets OR comment will be entered into a draw for a branded version of this video!

Air Miles Rewards

Most people have collected points of one kind or another, whether it’s for drugstore purchases or free groceries – but the granddaddy of them all is the Air Miles program. If you have bemoaned the length of time it takes to collect enough points to go anywhere more interesting than Sudbury, the new AIR MILES Reward Program for real estate transactions might be your solution. At last, enough points – all in one shot – to really fly away!

The scoop: If you max out at the 1500 reward miles, you can earn a flight to New York, or other goodies like electronics, entertainment packages and more.

The bonus: Exclusive for GOLD Collectors, earn 200 Bonus AIR MILES reward miles when you buy or sell a property through CENTURY 21.

The catch: You have to work with a Century 21 agent. And you have to submit your request for miles within 12 months after the closing date of your transaction. And the offer is valid until April 30, 2010.

Aeromove

If you collect Aeroplan points, there’s also Aeromove, a home and move services program available exclusively to Aeroplan® Members. Whether you’re buying a home, selling a home, moving anywhere in Canada or refinancing, Aeromove can help you through the process.

The program: Aeroplan connects you with qualified real estate agents, home inspectors, movers, lawyers, junk removers and more. You earn Aeroplan Miles every time you use these services, making it a one-stop shop and letting you earn points just for joining Aeromove.

The scoop: At 1,500 Aeroplan Miles for every $10,000 in home value purchased or sold when you use a cooperating Aeromove real estate agent, plus additional Miles for other transactions like legal services, a typical transaction of $500,000 earns enough miles to buy THREE round trips to New York.

The catch: You have to use an agent registered with the Aeroplan program. You have to deal with restricted flight availability. You have to navigate the annoying Aeroplan website.

Travel miles not your thing, maybe you’d like gift cards instead?

Sears Certified Real Estate Services

One service gets you really close – Sears Certified Real Estate Services, which lets you earn thousands in Sears Gift Cards when you buy or sell your home – gift cards you can take into a store and use.

If you sign up with a Sears Certified Agent, when you buy or sell your home, you’ll earn 0.6% of your home’s value in Sears Gift Cards.

The program: Fill out an online form to sign up and you’ll be referred to a Sears Certified Agent ideally suited to help you find or sell your home. Sears Certified Agents come from several different national brokerages like RE/MAX, Royal LePage, Sutton Group, Coldwell Banker, Prudential, Homelife or Century 21. They’re chosen for their years of specialization in the communities they serve, and have been certified as meeting high standards for experience, dedication to customer service and demonstrated results.

The scoop: If you buy or sell a $500,000 home, you get $3,000 in gift cards (check out the Sears Reward Calculator to find out how much you can earn.) That’s enough for a new living room.

The bonus: You’ll also receive a Sears Home Savings Book when you sign up, with special offers that could save you hundreds on furnishings and home improvements.

The catch: Uou have to work with one of the Sears-certified agents to earn the cash rewards.

Because gift cards are so much like cash, they are easy to use.

Here’s what people are saying about the Sears program:
“We earned 0.6% of our house price in Sears Gift Cards by using the referral service. Now we’re using those gift cards to help outfit our home. I feel like we got the most for our dollar. If I’m getting points every time I buy a pair of jeans or a slice of pizza, why shouldn’t I expect an incentive when I’m buying something as big as a house?” —Julianne of Hamilton

Obviously, the only way an incentive – whether it’s airline points or a free TV from your Realtor – will work for you, is if there’s no negative difference in the real estate process. After all, if the agent representing the rewards program doesn’t do a good job, no amount of points will compensate you for lost money and hassle. But because the current reward programs screen their agents first, to ensure they’re professional and knowledgeable of the market, it might be worth it to let someone else select your agent. You can always interview the affiliated agents to see if they’re a good fit for you, before you sign anything.

After you buy or sell a house, a trip to New York might be just the thing to get away from it all. But Certified Real Estate Services offer greatest freedom of choice because gift cards can be used for so many more things. And remember, you can earn points on the buying AND selling of your old and new house.

Look for real estate related points programs to continue to grow in 2010.

Why did HomeZilla give away free ads? As we talked with real estate agents, they gave us many reason why they didn’t advertise online. For most, the real and most hidden reason, was they didn’t know how to get the ad creative. Once they had an ad they could run, they were only too happy to advertise.

So, small step for ads , one giant leap for agents advertising online.

You might notice that one office Exit Realty Metro had a bunch of agents come on board. One of Exit Realty Metro’s agents, Colleen Verville, has integrated HomeZilla’s Hoody as well.

Now here are the agents, with their creative, that took advantage of this offer.

Are you reading this post and thinking, “I want a free ad?”. HomeZilla will create ads for 35 more agents… just comment on this blog and leave us your details…or send us a tweet.

Offer good until Dec 25th…then we turn into Scrooge!

Come one, come all (well, the first 100) to HomeZilla and request your FREE ad creative!

You send us a tweet or comment on this blog post and say “Please make me a FREE advertisement”. And include, your name, real estate office, phone number, and website…we will take care of the rest!

Here are examples of SKY ads we created for existing agents:

Your ad will look very similar to these.