Home-valuation site Zillow.com has added a "Home Q&A" feature that allows any of the site’s visitors to post a question about the home, and provides a way for real estate professionals or home sellers to respond.

The salesperson or other individual who posted the home in question on the site will be notified by e-mail and asked to respond, although there’s no obligation to do so, says Jorrit Van der Meulen, vice president of partner relations, Zillow.com.

Since real estate professionals “are move conversant with the industry,” their responses will often be most valuable and are likely to be more highly rated by site visitors, Van der Meulen says. Approximately 65 percent of the listings currently on Zillow were posted by real estate professionals, he says.

Responses will also link to another new feature, a free profile page that includes contact information, a photo, bio, and links to any posted listings. Zillow says it has about 4 million unique monthly visitors.

The company also added a new regional advertsising option for real estate pros. The so-called "EZ Ads" are brief ads with a picture, phone number, and links. They'll appear when searches are made on the ZIP codes purchased by an advertiser. Ads will initially be priced at $.01 per impression, according to Van der Muelen.



Source: REALTOR® Magazine Online