“Real estate social network” in the works

Larry Vecchio, a real estate agent in Monmouth County N.J., has risen above the domain name wars that have plagued the real estate community, the New York Times reported. While he has purchased over 1,000 domain names for real estate across the country — from HomesinNewJersey.com to HomesinNorthAmerica.com — his aim is not to steal business but to create “the first social media real estate site” for New Jersey.

As The Real Deal has reported in the past, many real estate professionals have noticed that owning the right url at the right time is a key business tool. But Vecchio’s approach is different.

He began buying up the names in the late 1990s, and now owns 1,300. His plan is to get local real estate agents and mortgage professionals to blog on the different sites in exchange for being “featured” on those sites, the Times said. The “hyperlocal” sites will also have listings.

Real estate marketers have reponded well to the opportunity, Vecchio said. At the Tri-State Realtors Convention in Atlantic City late last year, agents were competing for blogging rights, agents said. Judith Weiniger, a Somerset County, N.J. agent, recently signed on to be the featured broker on the HomesinWarren.com and HomesinWatchung.com sites. “People are more apt to trust a person or a business if they know someone else trusts them. I’m looking to build continued good will,” she said. [NYT]