Real Estate Auction MashUp

2RealEstateAuctions.com is a Google Map mashup built with eBay's API. It displays live eBay listings from Real Estate Auctions. One great feature is that the site allows users to view the listings next to the highest bid count - alerting the internet homebuyer of a strong demand and possible bargin. Also, U.S. Census data for housing & occupancy near the home is available.


If your wanting to view more auction inventory take a look at Realty Bid it is not a mashup filter of eBay Real Estate Listings. It is an auction site that works with real estate agents, corporations and banks to accelerate the sale of real estate. The site is for "motivated sellers, but not necessarily desperate sellers. All properties offered on RealtyBid.com are required to have discounted minimum reserve prices as compared to the list price." Note: RealtyBid.com is designed to be a tool for real estate agents only. The site is a Non-For-Sale-By-Owner (NFSBO) site.

In October, RealtyBid.coms monthly inventory of properties up for auction nationwide topped more than 1,000 for the second time in four months. Octobers inventory of 1,038 properties was an increase of 427 percent over October 2005. Source: Denver Post

Inventory of Homes For Sale

As a homebuyer what are the most popular web sites to find homes for sale? I just thumbed through the 2006 Realtor Technology Survey, conducted by NAR's Center for REALTOR Technology in May 2006 - I remembered a graph and posted it below.


Obviously, the survey is dated but it shows that Agents place the majority of their listings with a local MLS site, the brokers site, Realtor.com and their own site.

"The fact is that buyers buy from the available inventory:" Gregg Swann

The MLS is an inventory. It is not universal, and a huge number of homes sold are not MLS-listed. Craigslist has an inventory. Zillow will have an inventory. Having a fairly comprehensive inventory is important to Realtors, but...

...The fact is, although there might be 45,000 homes in the Arizona Regional Multiple Listings Service right now, when I go out to show houses, I will have (those) listings with me... When buyers are ready to buy, they will buy from whatever inventory is available from the vendor they have decided to buy from. If they are convinced FSBOs are a bargain, the 29 houses on Craigslist just trumped my 45,000.

REBNY "Me-To" Web Portal

A recent real estate article from Inman News correspondent Jessica Swesey announces that REBNY "...has begun developing a Web portal that will incorporate its members' property listings and make the portal available to the general public for free in early 2007." After reading - the Inman article - I started to remember my article posted last week about MLS's ending the listing feeds to Realtor.com. Im wondering if New York City's largest real estate trade association is positioning itself to also pull its feed to realtor.com - at the end of their contract. The Real Estate Board of New York's web portal idea is very close to a "me-to" strategic move - just - take a look at REIL's web portal that went live and is free to the public.

At REIL's web portal real estate consumers can conduct a free search of non-proprietary listing data, can request open house information, and can also access directories for agents or offices.

Update: The New York Sun Times Article

The Government Has Homes For Sale

Yes the U.S. Governement has homes for sale. The homes for sale were FHA-insured forclosure properties and after the owner defaults HUD takes ownership of the property and sells the home or multi-family home for its most recent appraised value. Most properties are sold to homebuyers looking for their "primary residence" - However, if HUD has trouble selling one of its homes then they open the purchase to real estate investors...

To find the address of a HUD office near you click here.