HotPads Daily :: The Official Blog of HotPads.com

More Looking Online for Housing Info

The number of internet users who have turned to the web for information about a place to live has increased significantly over the past six years, according to the Dec. 13th report by the Pew Internet & American Life Project.  While only 27% of adult internet users surveyed in 2000 reported looking online for new housing information, that number increased to 34% in 2004 and to 39% in 2006.

There was only a slight difference found between the usage habits of the different genders, with 38% of men and 40% of women having reported using the internet to find housing information.  However, there were certain characteristics that did contribute significantly in the usage of the internet for finding a place to live.

    Age

 Age proved to be the most important factor in whether a person searched online for housing    information.  There was found to be an inverse relationship between age and the percentage of people who used the internet for housing information: the older the person, the less likely it was that they used the internet for housing purposes. 

Over half (51%) of those surveyed in the 18-29 age group reported having used the internet to gather housing information and 9% of them even claimed to have done so in the last 24 hours.   30-49 year olds also boasted high  percentages of 43%.

The use of the internet for housing research dropped substantially with the next age group of 50-64 year olds, where only 27% have ever looked online.  Not surprisingly, adults over the age of 65 were the least likely to have used the internet, though 15% of them have surfed the net for their housing queries.

    Education

A person's level of education also seemed to affect their  use of the internet. High school graduates and those with some college education showed similar patterns of usage: 34% and 38% respectively.  College grads were more likely to research online, as close to half of those surveyed (46%) had used the internet for housing information in the past.

  Household Income

Households with incomes less than $30,000, those with $30,000-$49,999, and households pulling in greater than $75,000 a year had very similar characteristics (43%,52%, and 45% respectively.)  However, those who reported household incomes of $50,000-$74,999 were significantly less likely to use the internet, as only 32% admitted to looking online for real estate information.   

  Online Experience

Some of the findings were less surprising, such as the role of of online experience.  The Pew Report found a correlation between online experience and the percentage of users who used the internet for real estate information.  They found that 45% of people with 6 or more years of online experience have searched the web, while out of those with 3 or less years of experience, only 23% did.

  Internet Connection

Also, the type of internet connection a person used also affected their usage of the internet, as those with a broadband connection boasted a greater percentage (45%) than dial-up users (30%).

 

HotPads Hits 25,000 Rental Listings... World: meet Princess Dora

When starting a company, it is important to set goals and milestones.  It is also important to set-up a reward system that incentivizes the team to reach these goals.

At the time of HotPads' launch, November 2005, we had 12 listings on the site.  We decided we wanted to build HotPads into the most comprehensive rental housing search site available, both in listing content and neighborhood information.  One goal we set out was to reach 50,000 active listings, a sizable goal at the time.  The reward?  HotPads would get an office dog.

Today, HotPads reached 25,000 active rental listings for the first time.  This quanity surpasses that of all of our premium listing competitors, which is a milestone in and of itself. 

So, to celebrate reaching the halfway point on our listing goal... HotPads got half a dog. 

World, meet Princess Dora, a 13 pound pug...who makes the office a lot more fun and sometimes a bit more stinky.  Dora likes beef jerky, eating paper, and never being alone.  She grunts and looks like an Ewok.  She resides with Doug Lewis, so she is only in the office during the day.

We like Dora.  A big Thanks to all of HotPads' property managers, brokers, agents , and home owners for making our half a dog possible!

Video Guides

Some of you may have noticed that there are now links to watch a video example on our homepage, as well as in our FAQ/Help section.  These videos show you how to use many of the features of our website and will, hopefully, be able to better answer the more common questions that we have been asked.

Right now, we have on-line tutorials for creating a basic listing, managing your properties and company, inviting new managers, and many more.  We will also be adding videos to aid those searching for new properties.

As we roll out the first batch of videos, please be kind!  As we get better, I'm sure they will begin to look a little less cheesy and may even include voice narration!  If you have any suggestions for videos, let us know!

In the meantime, check out how easy it is to create a listing on HotPads!  (The video takes 1 1/2 minutes to show you how to create a listing and activate it... but I've done it in under a minute)

Search Engine Optimized?

While HotPads strives to be search engine optimized for search terms like “Apartments,” “Rental Houses,” or “Map Search,” some of HotPads’ best optimized terms are ones we never imagined. One of the most recent examples was our discovery that HotPads is the #1 Yahoo! search result for “Hot Roommates"! 

Imagine the stampede of users to HotPads if we could actually offer this service.   Maybe some crafty entrepreneur will figure out how to capitalize on this high demand market, but, here at HotPads, we will have to stick to being “the place to find your place” . . . nothing more.

Are you from Outer Space?

NASA revealed their plan to construct a base on the moon in the Dec. 4th press release, "NASA unveils  Global Exploration Strategy and Lunar Architecture."  Apparently, they will be building a base on the moon that astronauts will eventually be able to stay in for 180 days.  Furthermore, one of the reported reasons why we should continue exploring the moon is "to extend human presence to the moon to enable future settlement."  Does this mark the true beginning of extraterrestrial real estate?

Buying a Piece of the Moon

Unfortunately for all those interested in moving to the moon, there is quite a bit of controversy surrounding the sale of lunar property.  While there are websites that offer to sell you a piece of the moon (such as the Lunar Registry), you might want to think twice before signing over your check.  No countries recognize such a sale of lunar properties and NASA  maintains that a UN treaty outlines the settlement of the moon, not individual companies.  According to this "Outer Space Treaty," space is the domain of all mankind and cannot be sold to private citizens. Too bad, because with a surface area of 14,645,750 square miles, the moon sure would provide a lot of room to spread out.  Nevertheless, thousands of people have already bought a little plot of lunar real estate.

What should I wear?

Buying lunar real estate is only half of it.  Think how embarrassed you'd be if you showed up in last year's extraterrestrial style!  What would the Martians think?  (You know how judgmental they are)  So, the question is... what do people on the moon wear? 

Fear not, Urban Outfitters is on it.  They promised to develop the first space attire for all the space tourists and future residents and should begin production of them in 2007.  These spacesuits will reportedly have a NASCAR jumpsuit-esqe feel to them...cool!  And they will be leased for as little as $3-6k each!  (DISCLAIMER: the picture is my interpretation, not actually the design produced by Urban Outfitters...obviously)

Live on the Moon?  Why Not?!

Wait...Before you pack your spacebags, let's look at some quick facts about the moon that may help make the housing bubble on Earth look more appealing.

1.  Average Distance from Earth: 238,855 mi
Sometimes it is tempting to just pack your bags and move, but the moon isn't just a plane ride away.  If you really want to get out of town, I hear Canada is nice...

2.  Length of Day: 27.3 Earth days
Well, I doubt that you will ever hear an Moon-ling complain, "There are just not enough hours in a day." 

3.  Length of Year: 27.3 Earth days
Wait a second... ohh...the moon takes the same amount of time to complete an orbit as it does to complete a rotation.   Hmm, if every 27.3 Earth days you turn a year older, that would make my mother 764 years old.  (Figure out your age in days and divide by 27.3)  I think that that is reason enough for her not to want to move to the moon.

4.  Minimum/Maximum Surface Temp. : -387° to 253° F
That is COLD, really, really cold...and HOT, really, really hot. 

5. You'd be living on the moon
C'mon, that's weird.

Matt: The "Warpath TV" Star

Matt, our Director of Technology, was asked to 'appear' in the podcast Sonic Boom on Warpath TV. 

As one of his first podcast experiences, I think he did a great job! In this episode, Matt talks with the hosts Ben, Mike Z, and George about a range of interesting topics from HotPads to web 2.0.  So, if you have an hour to spare, check it out!

Gmail can now be used for work

I am one of gmail's biggest fans.  The only problem has been that I have only been able to use it for my personal emails, because I want all work emails to come from dpope@hotpads.com.  This has all changed with Google's new Gmail release last week.  Michael Arrington wrote a good article about it at TechCrunch found here . 

I have been trying to get my family to all use gmail.  Below is a helpful email I sent them to encourage them to set up this new functionality.

Subject:  The Gift of Gmail

Google just launched Pop 3 functionality.  (greek to me too) 

But this means that anyone can use Gmail using any email address.  For instance, I now have my work email (dpope@hotpads.com ) forwarded to my gmail address.  When I reply, the email comes from whatever email address the sender had used.  So, the people I deal with at work always see dpope@hotpads.com and my firends and family always see my gmail address.  The people receiving the email have no way of telling that I use gmail.  You can have upto five email addresses forwarded to your gmail account.  Allowing you to forward both your work and personal emails. 

I have given all of you the gmail sermon before, but it is by far the best email service out there.  It organizes emails as conversations rather than individual emails, bundling an entire email string as one conversation.   It is a very logical way to organize communications.

It will change the way you think about email.  Please try it.  ( I have cc:d all of your gmail accounts...that you are not currently using!)

To start, you will need to click "Settings" in the top right corner of gmail and then click "Accounts" in the yellow toolbar. Follow the instructions to include specific emails you would like to be able to use within gmail. You go into your other email services to set-up the forwarding  (just look for options about Pop and Forwarding). 

Ok.  If you have questions or reservations, call me. 

Douglas

P.S. Notice I sent this from my HotPads account.

Zillow Launches For-Sale Listings

Supposedly, Zillow is in the process of launching for-sale listings.  Here is an Inman News Alert: Link .

Zillow's site is down for maintenace right now (I assume they are in the process of launching). This is a very interesting development for the industry. 

Population Density Heat Maps

I was embarrassed earlier this week when I yelped upon seeing Population Density Heat Maps on HotPads.  I somehow missed the fact that we launched them last week.  This is an interesting layer.   We had to really play with the color ranges in order to get proper disparity  between areas.  Here is a link to Dallas with the properties hidden.  Link

We are launching a new version of the site this evening.  I wonder what little goodies will be included....

CoRE #21, Take 2: The Hangover

The "hungover" edition of the 21st Carnival of Real Estate is up over at the Property Monger with 11 more articles selected for your viewing pleasure.  (Because the top 10 from yesterday + the 11 today= 21, get it?) The articles are good, the commentary is great-I even chuckled a bit (outloud...it was sad).  See for yourself.

Everyone else who submitted an article, but didn't make the first two cuts, is listed on the CoRE site.  The 10,000-strong ActiveRain will host next week's Carnival.