Open Source Real Estate Site Launched
A: Thanks to a tipster for letting me know about Mightydigs.com, a new concept in real estate listings that takes on a much more personal touch. According to the site, Mightydigs listings can be added and edited by anyone, thereby creating an enhanced and more accurate version of the original property listing.
An interesting idea that I'm not sure whether it will catch on or not, but if it does it could become a unique social connections site where visitors to a property can give their opinions on the pros and cons of the apartment for sale. Using a blog format the content is in fact listings that users can enter for free; at least for now. Once the listing is entered into the blog as a post, users can write comments that were left by visitors to the property. Right now data is very limited but expected from what looks to be a very new site.
Right off the bat I'm wondering whether you can trust the comments that are left? Whats to say that the owner or broker will not act as a buyer and leave a biased comment about the property for the general public to read? Also, I'm not sure this idea should have been designed using blogging software. It should have its own look and feel and unique features to display their target content properly.
Take WallFly.com for example, which is a site that is attempting to gather Co-op and Condo Board data so that New York real estate investors can see the policies and toughness of the board in the building they may buy into. Wallfly has its own look and feel which was designed specifically for the target content they are gathering. I really think that the co-op board data and policies they are collecting will be a long but rewarding process for this site as they eventually will provide data that is right now hard to come by for buyers of real estate.
But, I will give Mightydigs the benefit of the doubt and try to get them some exposure as their whole model depends on true users submitting content via listings + comments; otherwise it doesn't quite work does it? As for charging for listings as of April 17th, 2006, better keep it very low because unless you are getting tons of traffic, real estate advertising dollars are better spent with NY Times Print, NY Times Web, E-Mail Blasts, & other publications that have a much larger marketing reach.
