Cody

We’re very proud to announce the launch of the new Ebby.com.  We’ve taken a page from Steve Jobs’ book and the new site features lighter colors and cleaner lines which gives it a streamlined look and improved readability.

The new layout allows for more prominent placement of Featured Listings, which are highlighted with vibrant photography. And, conveniently located on the homepage are tabs showcasing Just Listed Homes, Recently Reduced Homes, Luxury Properties and Open Houses.

The new site also employs a social toolbar that offers users the opportunity to actively engage with us via the Ebby Blog, Twitter and YouTube. It also incorporates a feed from Facebook with our newest post.

In addition to updating the design of the site, we made a point of enhancing search functionality, content and layout to create a more user-friendly experience for our valued site visitors.  

Enhancements include:

Advanced Search

The redesigned site allows users to search by more fields within the MLS using expandable filter bars. A results counter tells visitors how many properties match their criteria – they are then able to easily narrow down the results to find a home that meets their specific needs.

Updated Content

The new site offers easy access to information relevant to the home buying process, such as details about the North Texas area, mortgage and insurance needs and buyer’s and seller’s guides.   

Community Page Updates

We’ve added new, vibrant photos and descriptions to better showcase the uniqueness of North Texas’ diverse communities. And, site users now have easy access to school and community data.

As with any new site launch, we’re still making edits, so we encourage you to give us your feedback via the blue “Feedback” tab located on the right of the screen when you’re searching Ebby.com. 

We’re proud of the new Ebby.com and hope you enjoy it also.  Shopping for – or selling – a home in North Texas is now easier, and more fun, than ever!

Kendall

It seems safe to say that fried chicken is having a moment. First, Octavia Spencer took home the Oscar on Sunday night for playing the straight-shooting, fried-chicken-cooking Minny Jackson in The Help. And on Monday, Sissy’s Southern Kitchen & Bar (in the old Hector’s on Henderson space) officially opened it’s doors resulting in a lot of buzz about the signature item – buttermilk-soaked fried chicken. You can read the mouth-watering review from D Magazine’s SideDish Blog here.

But back to real estate.  This new Dallas hotspot not only sounds delicious, but it sits on vibrant Henderson Avenue surrounded by unique bars, shops and restaurants. And there’s no shortage of highly-coveted homes nearby.  Did you know that you can use the Ebby.com Proximity Search to find a list of homes for sale within a certain distance of Sissy’s Southern Kitchen, or any other location for that matter.  For example, to see a list of homes currently for sale within a quarter mile of Sissy’s, click here.  Pretty cool, huh?  We used the Ebby.com Proximity Search to find that list.  You can use the fields on the left column to further narrow the results by your specific criteria. 

And while we can certainly see the benefits of living within walking distance to Dallas’ newest and hottest home cooking, there are lots of other practical uses for the Ebby Proximity Search – live near schools, jobs – the possibilities are endless.  Happy searching! 

P.S. – if you stop by Sissy’s, have some squash puppies with whipped Texas honey guild butter and jalapeño jelly for us!

Cody

We mentioned last week that Ebby.com earned the Website Quality Certification from Leading Real Estate Companies of the World.  This week the full report arrived and we’re proud to announce that we received a total score of 58 out of 60! 

We’re also proud that Ebby.com is regularly recognized with current awards for its outstanding features.  A single award is noteworthy, but we believe that online innovation requires constant progress.  That’s why we strive year after year to attain current recognition, which indicates our website is meeting the demands of today’s consumer with the most up-to-date technology available.  Speaking of, you’ll be seeing some great new features from Ebby.com in the near future – stay tuned.

In the meantime, here are some highlights from Ebby.com’s official report card:

USABILITY:

The website is very easy to navigate; we did not encounter any errors.  Given the amount of interactive content it did not take long to load.  The property search feature is the very first thing that you see and there are multiple ways of approaching your search.   

DESIGN & WEBSITE CONTENT:

The look of the site is consistent with the Ebby brand; every element looks clean and harmonious.  The photography is exceptional, makes every listing look special.  There is a ton of community information; even someone with no knowledge of the Dallas area will get a great overview from this site.  Beyond the basic community information there was a wealth of “goings on” in the area.  This would be very appealing for someone moving from one community to another; doesn’t only market the Ebby brand, but it’s a great sell for Dallas.

INTERACTIVITY:

As mentioned before, there are multiple ways to approach the home search and they have managed to cover all of them.  The mapping feature is exceptional; you can really pinpoint exactly where you want to find a home.  As we mentioned several other times, Ebby.com does a good job of remembering people who aren’t familiar with the area.  Most impressive was the short video that explained how to use the interactive map, left no room for confusion.  There are links to all of the social media sites (even the look of that is integrated nicely into the site).  The blog is very good and it is current.  There are property alerts and mobile applications available.

CUSTOMER SERVICE & CLIENT RESPECT:

Very simple and easy to find contact information and inquire about property listings.  Immediately received a phone call to discuss our inquiry further, and also received an email ten minutes after our inquiry submission.

Cody

Ebby.com, The Best Address In Real Estate, just added another award to its long list of accolades.  This time it’s the Website Quality Certification (WQC), presented by Leading Real Estate Companies of the World! 

Read the entire press release below.  And then, for fun, check out the great video at the end of this post which gives some history of LeadingRE, particularly Ebby Halliday’s role in its creation.  Needless to say, we’re very proud of this honor:

PRESS RELEASE:

Ebby Halliday, Realtors has earned the 2011 Website Quality Certification (WQC), presented by Leading Real Estate Companies of the World^® to member companies that have demonstrated excellence in website design, functionality and execution.

Every aspect of the site, ebby.com, was reviewed to ensure exacting standards were met in six key areas, ranging from design and content to human interactivity to search engine optimization.  The WQC was introduced in 2009 to recognize and encourage superior websites among Leading Real Estate Companies of the World’s 550 member firms.  

“With so many people going online to obtain information on homes, communities and everything relating to home buying and selling, it is vital for a real estate firm to have a current, easy-to-use and relevant website,” notes Pam O’Connor, president/CEO of Leading Real Estate Companies of the World^®.  “By earning the Website Quality Certification, Ebby Halliday, Realtors has demonstrated that it offers fundamental online resources to home buyers and sellers, which are further supported by the expertise only a dedicated real estate professional can provide.”     

For more information about Ebby Halliday, Realtors, please visit ebby.com.

Cody

For all of you who love to shop the sales online, be sure to check out the new Reduced Price Property Search on Ebby.com!  Starting now, you can search for homes in any area that have been recently reduced in price and recorded in the MLS - and you’ll even see the previous price and the percentage of the reduction.  Best of all, this applies to all properties listed in the MLS, not just Ebby listings.

You can click the box for “Reduced Price Properties” in the Advanced Search section of ebby.com to search for only price reduced homes or look for the blue “Reduced” bar on homes in any of your regular searches. 

One more reason why Ebby.com is still the Best Address in Real Estate!  Happy searching.

Cody

The Fall/Winter 2010 issue of Grand Vie: Luxury in Living magazine made its debut this week, direct mailing to almost 30,000 luxury homes across the DFW Metroplex.  As usual, it’s filled with some of the most luxurious homes currently on the market – from the spectacular University Park estate cover home designed by Wilson McClure and situated on 1.47 park-like acres, to the perfect “home for the holidays” lake front log home in Grand Lake, Colorado, to an Austin Stone estate property in Preston Hollow with a 175-bottle wine room and outdoor living space.  With everything from stately traditional to ultra-contemporary, this edition also features luxury homes in Plano, Frisco, Mansfield, McKinney, Southlake and even Seaside, Florida.

Additionally, this issue introduces an exciting new marketing element, Tag technology.  The Ebby Halliday Companies continuously strive to provide our clients with the very best in home marketing, utilizing the most current communication tools.  That’s why starting in this issue, almost every page features a graphic Tag, that when scanned with a Smartphone Tag Reader, immediately delivers a full photo gallery, property details including room dimensions, current price and school information and direct access to the listing Associate via phone or e-mail.  Some even feature property videos.  This immediate connection to the online world makes it easier than ever for Grand Vie readers to find instant information on their property of interest. 

Curious to see how the Tag technology works?  Try it out by following these steps:

1.  Download the free Tag Reader to your Smartphone at http://gettag.mobi, then follow the    instructions for your phone type.

2.  Open the Tag Reader and scan or photograph a Tag on any page in Grand Vie (or the Tag above).

3.  Property details, more pictures and agent information will load as a web page where you can explore the property more thoroughly (see examples below).

Tag technology has been extremely popular in Asia and is becoming increasingly popular in the U.S. – you may have seen similar Tags in recent issues of Architectural Digest, ads from our friends at Luxury Portfolio Fine Property Collection, and ads from retailers like Pottery Barn and Giorgio Armani.  We’re very excited about the many other potential uses for this technology to help promote the properties we represent.

Another highlight of this issue is the spotlight on North Texas philanthropy, which focuses on the annual Cattle Baron’s Ball.  Themed “The Great State Fair,” the 2010 Ball is scheduled for this Saturday night at the renowned Southfork Ranch.  Guest writer and 2010 ball chair, Kristi Sherrill Hoyl, gives all the details of this year’s event, as well as the history of the Cattle Baron’s Ball, which has become the world’s largest fund-raising event for cancer research.

We hope you enjoy the newest issue of Grand Vie: Luxury in Living.  If you’d like to see a copy now, you can view the full online edition at grandviemagazine.com.