Pinterest: it’s easy, it’s fun, and it’s useful. Users from all walks of life are excited to collect pictures of things that inspire them to explore their creativity and pin them to their boards, and real estate professionals like you are really starting to benefit from it now. Not only can you use different boards on Pinterest to let your followers know more about you and the things you love, but now, thanks to a new feature from Homes.com, you can also utilize Pinterest to increase your online visibility and traffic to your listings with the new “Pin It” Button feature on your listing photos!

This new feature from Homes.com allows you to “pin” photos of your Homes.com listings to any of your boards on Pinterest right from the Homes.com listing page. When you do this, the picture of your pin will link back to your original listing on Homes.com, which allows you to increase online visibility, promote your listings, and connect with prospects.

Promote your listings – As a busy real estate professional, you can never have enough places to promote your listings. Pinterest gives you one more place to do that with your Homes.com listings. You can make a board called, “My Listings,” or maybe several boards and name them according to the different areas you cover, and “pin” all of your listing photos to them with detailed descriptions. That way, when users are searching for certain keywords in the Pinterest board database, your picture and link to your listing will come up! This will allow you to…

Connect with prospects – If a Pinterest user is looking for ideas for their next home and they find one of your listings within the pins, they have a direct connection to you on Homes.com! Your pin will link them back to your original listing and they’ll be able to see more photos of that listing, the rest of your listings on Homes.com, and information on how to contact you.

Increase your online visibility – All of this increases your online visibility which, as we’ve mentioned before, is crucial to your real estate business’ success. The more you engage with clients and prospects, the more likely it will be that they will think of you when it comes time for them to buy or sell a home. Homes.com and Pinterest have made this extremely easy for you!

Do you use Pinterest and how has it helped your business? Will you start pinning your listings with the new Homes.com “Pin It” Button? We want to know!

Homes.com Quarterly “State of the Housing Market” Report

Reveals Upward Momentum and Top City Searches

Report indicates housing market on the mend

NORFOLK, Va. (May 16, 2012) – With more than 69 million home searches on its site in the first quarter, Homes.com, a leading real estate listing site and lifestyle resource for all things home related, has released a quarterly report on the current state of the housing market based on its data and search trends on the site.

The report, an industry standard for obtaining a pulse on the market, indicates a promising outlook in the housing market. Several of America’s largest and favorite cities lead the pack of top places searched for by those looking to purchase a home.

The top ten cities, determined by the number of unique searches on the site, include:

1. Orlando – 258,975
2. Las Vegas – 245,728
3. Houston – 202,279
4. Atlanta – 165,089
5. Tampa – 146,375
6. San Antonio – 137,117
7. Charlotte – 135,414
8. Miami – 133,870
9. Norfolk – 120,949
10. Jacksonville – 117,909

The data reveals southern housing markets are still relevant and desirable, with Florida markets–Orlando, Tampa, Miami and Jacksonville–taking four of the top ten spots. Houston, Atlanta and Charlotte are among other cities in the top ten, confirming the trend that houses in southern states are in high demand, partially due to more affordable market rates and a lower overall cost of living.

With more than 258,000 unique searches, Orlando was the top city searched for home purchases with more than 258,000 unique searches. With its gated communities and golf courses, Orlando’s Eastwood neighborhood was the city’s top searched area. Orlando, long touted as a popular tourist destination, is fast becoming known for its lower housing market rates and abundance of planned communities.

Not too far behind Orlando, Las Vegas, the second most searched city for homes to buy, was searched by more than 245,000 visitors. The legendary nightlife in Las Vegas seems worlds away in the quiet neighborhood of Villa Sedona, the second most searched neighborhood on the report. Villa Sedona, just outside of Las Vegas touts beautiful scenery and spacious homes, all within close proximity to America’s favorite adult playground.

The report, complete with more than 100 cities and neighborhoods searched throughout the country, is an indicator that the housing market is making a comeback and is likely to continue improving throughout the remainder of 2012 and beyond.

About Homes.com

As one of the nation’s top online real estate destinations, Homes.com inspires consumers to dream big. From affordable houses to luxurious estates, condos and more, Homes.com features more than four million property listings and a user-friendly format, making finding your next home or a licensed real estate agent easily accessible. Visitors to the Homes.com blog will find a collection of rich content and posts on DIY projects, painting, gardening and more, providing the ultimate resource for everything home related. From purchasing a first home, to upgrading, downsizing and everything in between, Homes.com is an inspiring and engaging partner in every phase of the home buying process.

For more information, visit http://www.homes.com or blog.homes.com.

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Join us for the next FREE webinar from Secrets of Top Selling Agents on Wednesday, May 30th, at 1PM Eastern. Realtor Leigh Brown will be here for, “Real & Powerful Buyer/Seller Scripts for TODAY’S Market: Educating Our Clients.” 

Are you wondering how to talk to your clients about the market without utilizing emotions so they can see clearly whether to proceed? Leigh Brown, also known as “The No B.S. Realtor”, will tell you how to educate your clients by using available tools, sharing dialogues and scripts in order to help sellers and buyers to the best of your ability. Learn a whole different style than what you learned in your initial real estate company training!

Don’t wait! Space is filling up fast. Register for this FREE webinar TODAY!

About Leigh Brown

Leigh Brown, a.k.a. “The No B.S. Realtor,” is a native of Concord, North Carolina, and serves the greater Charlotte area. Though she grew up on a farm and has sold liquor, stocks, and chainsaws, she found her calling in residential real estate. Leigh has become an industry leader through constant learning and continually upgrading her technology to better serve her buyer, seller, and agent clients. As well as a Realtor, Leigh is a wife, mother, daughter, sister, cousin, friend, pianist, singer, and possible politician.

We look forward to having you join us on May 30th!

As always, Homes.com will be on the floor at the trade expo. Visit us at booth #500 to get demos of Homes Connect and learn about our other marketing solutions.  While you’re at our booth, make sure you enter for a chance to WIN a gift card! Also, make sure to stay up to speed and on the action at Mid Year by following our LIVE updates at @Homes_Connect using event hashtag #midyear.  See you there!

See more photos on our Facebook page – www.facebook.com/homesconnect