B2C E-commerce Model In Real Estate Industry By Sundar Rajagopalan Miyoung Yoo

Major Players in Real Estate Site Name Sponsor Honeadvisor.msn.comMicrosoft’s Homeadvisor Transaction Network’s finance site Auctions owners’ Network by RealSelect, Inc.

A Sample Front Page

Basics The real estate transaction process can be divided in the following five steps: 1. Listing: a seller registers his house with a real estate agent or directly to the online-site( ) 2. Searching: a buyer review houses to find those that might be suitable in location, size, price, and features.

Basics (Cont.) 3. Evaluation: the online agency evaluates a house for the buyer based on the environment 4. Negotiation: An offer made by the buyer is worked out with the offering price of a seller 5. Execution: The deal is completed, whereby the money and house can change hands. Currently, the legal system creates obstacles to electronic closings.

A Sample Registration Page

A Sample Home on Sale

Who are the customers? Customers who want more information and less transaction fee Customers who want faster and convenient search functions based on their financial and geographical preferences. In short, anyone who is interested in buying, selling and renting can avail the service.

How to attract customers Provide faster pre-approval for loans Provide free property analysis reports if a site is to be sold Include automated functions such as for-sale -by- owner or so that business can take place quicker Reduce transaction cost Since real estate is an information-intensive business in nature, ensure more information and provide professional assistance

Value added Enhance Buyer–broker– seller relations Provide mapping functions that places houses in relation to nearby landmarks, such as post office or police station Integrate finance component The basic values are to find the right house to buy that matches the buyer’s requirements and to sell a house in a successful way. The following could be several value added:

Value added (Cont.) Provide various demographic statistics pertaining to the surroundings such as the median age and income. Rent in various areas Compare salaries and real estate values in various cities Provide loan for buying houses

Turning one shot customers into repeat customers Provide notification services that sends to the registered users the information on the houses that is newly on the sale list and matches their preferences Since selling and buying a house is not a frequent event, focus on attracting a large base of users by providing more information and convenient features.