How do you like to search for a home?

Windermere is always interested to know how you like to search for homes online. Here are some of the responses I received when I asked a group of friends, "When looking at homes online what are the cool bells and whistles that keep you coming back for more?"

"Being able to type in a neighborhood, find the street you want and then be able to virtually view that home."

"Simple menus with minimal "clicking" required. Results must post quickly. Map with multiple views, photos arranged in an intuitive manner. Listing info with easy ability to forward listing or contact the agent. Hate virtual tours, take too long to load. I don't want much do I?"

"Recent sales with time on market info"

"I'll say pictures, pictures, pictures. Updated ones too, not pictures taken in the winter that you still have posted."

"When I view a house, please show me "suggestions" based on the inference gained from the house(s) that I was just looking at. In others words, a great "Recommendations" engine (like what Amazon does for shopping)."

"An easy loading aerial map that can zoom showing recent sales and current homes for sale;
- Comps
- LOTS of photos (both interior & exterior), preferably around 15, that have NOT been colorized or stretched (when there's only one photo, I see it as a huge red flag);
- A list of surrounding schools and amenities
- Searches that narrow type of dwelling, max & min price, square footage, time on market, and lot size…."

"Windermere was one of my fave search sites in the midst of our three house transactions over the last two years. Features on Redfin and Zillow were also helpful. Although zestimates can get botched with the standard computer model, I found zestimates for the most part accurate and helpful. My only criticism of these sites was that map loading often became cumbersome for my computer."

Pretty obvious maps, Data, and photos are critical. In addition, speed seems to be a common them as well. If you have some ideas we would love to hear them.