We launched a new “what if” feature to our instant home valuation tool earlier this evening. The new feature allows users to receive an instant home value estimate. Once the user gets their estimate they can play “what if” and hypothetically add an extra bedroom, bathroom and/or some extra square footage. After entering the “what if” data the user gets a new home value estimate.

HomeGain’s home valuation tool is part of our AgentView offering that features real estate agent profiles, blogs and listings in an advertising free environment. Continue reading this post

Last night we launched a new design of our web site.

The new HomeGain.com  makes it easier for visitors to find real estate information and to connect with local Realtors quickly.

We’ve made the agent blogs, agent profiles and  agent listings more accessible with direct links to these sections from HomeGain.com.

Also available directly from HomeGain.com is our instant home values tool and the popular Home Sale Maximizer tool that helps home sellers determine which home improvement will provide the best return on investment.

Visitors to HomeGain.com can also find and compare Realtors with our Agent Evaluator product and can search MLS listings in the View Homes For Sale section.

Please take a look and let us know what you think.

Louis Cammarosano

HomeGain folks Matt Malmgren, Salvatore Giammarresi and Kevin Malmgren are off to Long Beach, California today to meet up with Realtors at the California REALTORS^® Expo this week.

Real estate agents and brokers who visit the HomeGain booth #820 will have an opportunity to:

• Win giveaways, including Max, the HomeGain gorilla, and a Flip Ultra™ camcorder
• Hear about the latest marketing products and strategies to help their business grow, including AgentView
• Get a discount on new memberships
• See demonstrations and takeaway free tools like the Home Sale Maximizer™ guide

We look forward to seeing all you California Realtors there!

Popular tool becomes part of AgentView

It seems every other day a newspaper reporter or blogger takes note of Home Sale Maximizer.

After getting the value of his home on HomeGain.com, Max finds out which home improvements to make before his home goes on the market, and contacts the featured Realtor to ask questions about his market.

Home Sale Maximizer is an online home improvement tool home on a HomeGain survey of over 2,000 real estate agents.

Home Sale Maximizer helps consumers calculate which home improvements will increase the resale values of their homes.

Last night we integrated Home Sale Maximizer into our popular AgentView product that features Realtor listings, blogs, profiles and other real estate content in an advertising-free environment. Continue reading this post

Karen Breen Elia of RE/MAX Exclusive Properties in Chicago is the special guest in this month’s “Winning Agent Call” on HomeGain Radio, hosted by Peter McCullough. The topic is home staging.

In Karen’s opinion, home staging is on the rise. “The more successful agents are finding that home staging is the key to moving properties, especially for agents in the more competitive markets,” said Karen.

Listen to Karen Breen Elia’s advice to real estate agents on home staging:

On this call, Karen shares how she provides value to her clients, overcomes objections (like personal tastes), and why it’s important to get “commitment” from clients before she begins working with them. Continue reading this post

Part 2 – HomeGain’s Fall 2007 Home Sale Maximizer™ Survey

In part 1, I disclosed six of the top 10 most recommended home improvements (by real estate agents). Now here are the top four!

1. Clean and de-clutter
2. Lighten and brighten
3. Stage home for sale
4. Landscape front/back yards

In each of the four regions, West, East, South and Mid-West, all real estate agents agreed that cleaning and de-cluttering was the most valuable action in getting a home into “home selling condition.”

At a minimal cost of a couple hundred dollars, ROI of cleaning and de-cluttering your home may skyrocket into a high average of 578%. This is added home value in the range of $1,500-$2,000. The highest return on investment was in the West (837%).

Professional home staging came in second place in the South and Mid-West. On a national level, agents reported that home staging costs between $400 and $600 on average, potentially resulting in a $1,900 to $2,500 increase to the home’s selling price, and making the return on investment over 340%. Continue reading this post