Homebuyers Can Now Search by School on realtor.com®
SANTA CLARA, Calif., July 6, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Realtor.com®, a leading online real estate destination operated by News Corp [NASDAQ: NWS, NWSA]; [ASX: NWS, NWSLV] subsidiary Move, Inc., today announced the launch of home search by school boundaries to help buyers narrow their search to specific elementary, middle and high schools, the latest feature designed to simplify the home search process.
Schools continue to play a major role in how buyers search for homes. More than 40 percent of potential homebuyers with children would utilize a school-led home search feature, according to a realtor.com® proprietary research. This is supported by the National Association of Realtors'® Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers 2016, which found almost half of all buyers with children under 18 are influenced by the quality of the school district in their neighborhood choice.
"Searching for homes by school has been the top requested feature by our users and showcases the importance of schools on home buying decisions," said Chung Meng Cheong, chief product officer for realtor.com®. "Our new school search feature makes it easy for those who are already familiar with a community to find homes within specific district boundaries. It takes us one step further in our mission to make all things home simple, efficient and enjoyable."
Cheong also noted that an April realtor.com® report found 22 percent of realtor.com® visitors ages 35-44 identified the desire to be near good schools as one of their top reasons to purchase a home. Schools were the third behind only "being tired of their current home" (30 percent) and a change in family circumstances/composition (23 percent).
Visitors to realtor.com® can simply enter the name of a school into the search box. They are then presented on the map view with a "pin" showing the school name and location along with homes for sale within the boundaries or nearby. Consumers have one-click access to a home's full realtor.com® listing page.
School search joins a growing list of recent realtor.com® enhancements including:
- Inclusion of Matterport 3-D virtual tours on select listings
- Enhancements to local community pages, including market trends, commute times and recommended homes
- Integration of Yelp reviews of neighborhood amenities, including shopping and restaurants
To learn more about searching for homes by school boundaries, please click here.
About realtor.com®
Realtor.com® is the trusted resource for home buyers, sellers and dreamers, offering the most comprehensive source of for-sale properties, among competing national sites, and the information, tools and professional expertise to help people move confidently through every step of their home journey. It pioneered the world of digital real estate 20 years ago, and today helps make all things home simple, efficient and enjoyable. Realtor.com® is operated by News Corp [NASDAQ: NWS, NWSA] [ASX: NWS, NWSLV] subsidiary Move, Inc. under a perpetual license from the National Association of REALTORS®. For more information, visit realtor.com®.
Editor's note: The school search boundaries are provided by Pitney Bowes, a global technology company that provides innovative products and solutions to power commerce. Pitney Bowes has been an established leader in the address validation and data quality markets for over 30 years. Data used by realtor.com® covers nearly 80 percent of the nation's elementary, middle and high schools. When data is unavailable, realtor.com® pulls listings from within a 10-mile radius of the requested school.
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SOURCE realtor.com
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