5 new tools for homebuyers

The future of real estate marketing is in video, according to many industry insiders. Why look at static Web page photos when you can watch a guided tour of a house and gardens?

The giant real estate brokerage franchiser Coldwell Banker teamed up with Google subsidiary YouTube to launch its own video channel last month. Viewers can watch real estate agents talking about the areas they serve, including the schools, parks, restaurants and amenities that make up various neighborhoods. There's a Browse-by-Map that shows all the video listings across the country.

"Video gives a more robust, nuanced view of the home," said Mike Fischer, VP of marketing for the company.

Eventually, much of the site's content will be listing videos that should help house hunters cut through some of the clutter of homes for sale.

There are some listing videos up already and the site is adding more all the time. It launched with only 30 or so full fledged home tours and now has about 300. When fully functional, the total should be many thousands.



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