Multiple Listings Go On-Line

Spokane’s residential real estate market just became easily accessible to people all over the world.

The Spokane Association of Realtors’ multiple listing service - featuring about 3,000 homes - went on-line this month.

“It’s another avenue of advertising,” said Sandy Alderman, an associate broker with Coldwell Banker Corrado Realty. “You’ve got to cater to the generation that uses the computer.”

Realtors applaud the Internet site, saying it’ll make buyers more educated about what they want in a home. The association also expects to add photographs of homes to the site this week.

“People can do a lot of background work before they get to Spokane,” Alderman said.

When potential buyers call up the Internet site, they choose the area they’re interested in, from within city limits or outlying areas.

Then they select basic features such as number of bedrooms and bathrooms. They also can narrow their selections by such criteria as: hardwood floors, eat-in-kitchens, swimming pools, tennis courts, or RV parking.

After selecting criteria - including a price range - all the homes that fit pop up on the screen, with a one paragraph description, and the name and phone number of the listing company.

“What we provide is a service. The job of the service industry is to make it easy for people,” said Jan Ekstrom, owner of Janek Co., a real estate firm. “I consider it a wonderful marketing opportunity.”

The Association of Realtors also is planning to broaden its service to include cross-references to the home pages of other realty companies, expanded residential listings, and commercial properties, said Joanne Day, a multiple listing service technical representative.

The Internet address for the Spokane Association of Realtors multiple listing service is: http://www.spokanerealtor.com.

, DataTimes