La Jolla Homes for Sale MLS Search Engine Description
Introduction
Irene and Jim's Diverse Solutions' dsSearchAgent MLS IDX software was created out of a need to have a superior public-facing property location system. Previous technology by other companies attempted to address such a desire, but different shortcomings in each solution prevented it from becoming the de facto solution in any given market. Given the radically changing web landscape and the massive increase in buyers turning to the Internet to find a home, we acquired the Diverse Solutions application to serve the needs of our clients and proepective clients.
Our dsSearchAgent Search Feature is unique in so many ways. It addresses every issue that other Search Programs have and has a feature set that overcomes even the largest real-estate search sites on the Internet today. Our Search Solution, which makes an interactive map onto which properties are plotted the central focus point, is blazingly fast, incredibly flexible, extremely simple to use, and is even powerful enough that not only consumers, but many agents have told us that they use our solution instead of their MLS's own search capabilities.
Our forward facing search for buyers (and even agents) leaves nothing to be desired. You can search for properties by just dragging and dropping different elements on the web page and by interacting with the map. Every search that you make is returned instantly, and the matching results are displayed on that same page without reloading; essentially, there's just no need to wait. Each individual property, whether on the map or listed in the search results section, can be clicked on to instantly switch the program from the map tab to a full-featured property details tab. On it, you will find all of the information about that property as well as a contact form, a mortgage calculator, a Google Street View of the property, a mini-map, school and community information, and so much more. What Makes dsSearchAgent Unique?
Cutting Edge Interface
The most advanced programming techniques to date have been used to ensure that everything a you does is responded to instantly. In fact, things have been sped up so much compared to other IDX providers that the entire property search experience has been combined seamlessly onto a single page. While it is still a web page in nature, it performs very much like a desktop application that is already on your computer. Our dsSearchAgent uses a multi-tab interface to allow you to quickly flip back and forth between the search panel and the results panel and the map panel and property details panel. This approach entirely eliminates the cumbersome multi-page search interface that all other IDX providers have.
Searching
Search Criteria Input
Instead of overwhelming you with a sea of textboxes, checkboxes, and city selection dropdowns, our dsSearchAgent keeps things simple yet powerful. By default, our dsSearchAgent presents you with a number of different "sliders" that you can drag and drop with your mouse to narrow down your search. You are also given the option to instead use textboxes to input your search information if you so choose.
Auto-Complete Locations
While other IDX providers use clunky drop down menus and large multi-select boxes to let you select the cities, our dsSearchAgent implemented a location search box that will instantly show the matching cities, communities, tracts, neighborhoods, and zip codes as soon as a visitor begins to type. You can then continue typing while looking at the suggestions, or they can use your mouse or keyboard to select one of the locations in the auto-complete box. This approach allows you to find properties in certain areas very quickly.
Search Within Map Area
It's often more convenient to search for properties within a map area instead of searching within the confines of a certain city, neighborhood, or other location. With dsSearchAgent, you can create your search criteria and then place a check in the checkbox to search only within your current map view. You can also search within certain parts of cities, tracts, neighborhoods, communities, or zips by specifying that criteria in addition to this option. Using this feature is especially helpful with larger cities, cities with differing tax rates, or when you want to search for properties close to a certain school or employer.
"Quick Find" Search Box
Sometimes you just want to quickly jump to a particular city or zip code within the map, or you already know the MLS number of a listing that you liked before. Using the "quick find" search box at the top-right of the map, a visitor can simply start typing the name of a city or zip code or the start of an MLS number, find what you are looking for in the auto complete drop down box, and hit enter. Without leaving the page, you map will instantly zoom into the desired city or zip; if you entered an MLS number, the property will be instantly loaded in the "Details" tab.
City Markers
Utilizing advanced mathematics and the standard property data that every MLS provides, our dsSearchAgent is able to calculate the centers and general bounds of each city. Using this data, dsSearchAgent intelligently places a certain number of city markers on the map at the center of each city. When the visitor hovers over one of these markers, the city name will appear along with the total number of listings for that city, the median home price, and the mean home price. Upon clicking on one of the markers, the visitor's map is instantly changed to focus on that city.
Viewing Results
Mapped Results
Once the number of properties that match the search criteria (if any) is low enough and the visitor has zoomed in enough, the properties will be placed on the map for you to either hover over for a quick preview or click on to take you to the full details page. The color and style of each property's marker indicates whether you have clicked on it visited before (dark green), whether the agent or office holds the listing (red or dark red), whether you have added the listing to your favorites (a star), whether the property was recently sold (dollar sign), or whether it is the currently selected property (purple). Listings that have multiple results at the same point on the map (condos in a high-rise, properties that are listed as both leases and for-sale, etc) are given a special marker that shows A full legend and help system is available to describe how the map works and what the different markers mean.
Returned Results
After a visitor specifies the criteria you are looking for in a home and clicks the "Search" button, you are, instantly, taken to the results of your search on the results tab. The results are cleanly laid out with each listing displaying a thumbnail photo and the property's primary information. Viewing the next page of results is quick and easy; clicking on the "Next" or "Previous" links makes the results smoothly scroll to the desired page.
Instant Sorting
Once a search has been performed and the results displayed, the visitor can quickly change the ordering of your results. By changing the "Sort by" drop down box, you can reorder the properties so that those with the largest lots are first, the newest properties come first, the most recently updated properties come first, or any number of additional sort options. Sorting, similar to everything else, is performed in real-time and is completed instantly.
Email Updates
On every search that a visitor makes, you are given the option to subscribe to daily or weekly email updates for that search. Each email is richly formatted and contains extensive details about each property that matched your search. Clicking on any of the properties in the email will bring the visitor back to the branded dsSearchAgent page where you can view even more details.
RSS Feeds
Unlike any other IDX solution on the market, our dsSearchAgent allows you to create your own RSS feeds for any search you perform. Similar to email updates, an RSS feed can provide you with updates on a particular search or on a particular property. However, the benefit of using an RSS feeds over receiving email updates is that RSS feeds allow you to receive the updates on your own time instead of sending you emails that you may be more likely to delete. If you want to learn more about the basics of RSS, you can watch a YouTube video here. You can also find out more about RSS feeds by searching Google for "RSS," or by going to www.google.com/reader.
Map Statistics
Another first for the industry is dsSearchAgent's slide-out map statistics panel. Once the page loads, and whenever the map is dragged, zoomed, or otherwise changed, property statistics for the new map view and selected property types are automatically loaded in the background. Once loaded, a quick mouse-over on the "Map Statistics" tab on the right side of the map will reveal the median, mean, high, and low property prices for that area. It will also show the price-per-square-foot as well as matching statistics for the lot sizes and home sizes for that area.
General Info and Photo Slideshow
Photo Slideshow
For every property that has more than one photo, a Flash photo slideshow is displayed. The speed and transition at which photos are shown is perfect for you, and its automatic play and pause functionality allows you to effortlessly view all of the photos without touching anything. Additionally, you can click the "View Full Size Photos" link to view the original photos provided by the MLS.
Property Notes
Every property has a small area directly beneath the photo slideshow that allows registered website you to enter in and save your own free-form text notes specific to that property. If the visitor hasn't yet logged in or registered on dsSearchAgent, you will be prompted to do so upon trying to save the note.
All of the standard property information is well organized and easily available as soon as a property is loaded. Not only can you quickly find what you are looking for, but you can also print the listing (along with a small map), view a PDF for the listing, contact the agent about the listing, share the property with a friend via email, and bookmark the property in your browser's favorites. You can also view any virtual tours available for the property or add the property to your dsSearchAgent favorites.
Mini-Map with Local Place Finder
The mini-map module and local place finder provides powerful functionality for you to keep you engaged. The map allows you to explore the property in more detail without flipping back to the map tab or losing your search, and the local place finder allows you to find places to eat, parks to explore, places to meet friends, and anything else that would be useful to locate.
Google Street View
Google's Street View technology gives you a chance to explore the neighborhood surrounding the listing without ever leaving your chair. By clicking and dragging on the initial picture, you can zoom, pan, and move the street view imagery to get a comprehensive understanding of the surrounding neighborhood on your own time.
Mortgage Calculator
The mortgage calculator is automatically set up for each property to calculate a mortgage payment based on a 20% down payment and a fixed mortgage rate that is easily adjustable in the admin area. The calculator itself works instantly, meaning that you don't have to wait even a little bit before you find the result.
Zillow Estimates
the data is available, the Zillow panel built into each property displays the Zestimate, value range, 30 day change, and the data-last-updated date for each property. Additionally, you are shown an appealing chart that details the changes in that property's Zestimate over the past year. You are also given a link that opens in a new window to Zillow's information about the property.
School and Community Information
With relevant community information being so important to prospective buyers, school and community information is paramount to the sale of any property. dsSearchAgent satisfies this need by providing a wealth of information on the local schools, demographics, crime, housing stats, family facts, education, economy, health, climate, and even local stores and restaurants. You get everything you need to know from a single spot.
Contact Form
The contact form built into each property details allows the visitor, in just a few quick seconds and without leaving the page, to put in your email address and any other information you wish and instantly let the agent know that you are interested in a particular property. Once the submission is complete (less than a second), you are notified that an agent will get back to you; you can then continue uninterrupted with your search.
dsAgentChat Instant Messaging
Our proprietary dsAgentChat instant messaging technology is fully integrated into our IDX solution, allowing you to easily chat via instant message directly with an agent.
Visitor Registration
Registration Dialog
Like everything else in dsSearchAgent, visitor registration is instant and doesn't require you to leave the page, your search, or the property you are viewing. The instant an unregistered visitor tries to access a registered-users-only feature (adding property favorites, viewing RSS feeds, setting up email updates, and viewing saved or previous searches), the screen is dimmed and you are presented with a few very simple options. You can either use an account you created earlier to login, or you can sign up for a new account. Either option is almost effortless, and once you have signed-in or registered, the screen is returned to normal and you can continue to perform searches and view property details without missing a beat.
Encouraging or Requiring Registration
After you have performed several searches, you will be asked to register. Also, you will be asked to register after viewing the details on a number of properties.
Viewing Favorites, Saved Searches, and Profile Information
Throughout a registered visitor's experience, you are given the option to add different properties into your collection of favorites. A single click on one of the "Add to Favorites" links will instantly mark the property as a favorite and change the link to make you aware of this. The entire process occurs seamlessly without you losing your place.
Additionally, every search a registered visitor makes is automatically saved in your search history. At any time, that visitor can choose to name the last search you made so that you can quickly find it later. You can also choose to receive daily or weekly email updates for that search when they decide to give it a name.
If at any time the visitor wants to see the properties they marked as favorites, the properties you added notes on, your recently viewed properties, or look over or manage the email updates for your named searches, or view all of the properties that you took notes on, you can just click on "Manage Your Searches and Favorites" at the top of the page. The information for each search and property is then displayed in an easy-to-read (and, in the case of searches, editable) format.
Web Site Modules
The dsSearchAgent website modules allow you to view and search slimmed-down IDX modules that appear on many pages throughout Irene and Jim's website. Each module will function off of the continually-updated MLS data. Links are set up to show anything and everything, from homes built after a certain year within a certain price range to homes listed only by a particular agent or broker office. Any time a web site visitor clicks on any of the properties, the full dsSearchAgent IDX is brought up, and the property you clicked on is immediately loaded.
The "Slideshow" module is used to display the main picture and the primary info of all of the properties that the link's search returns in a slideshow-like fashion. The slideshow is in autoplay mode when it loads, but you can easily pause and resume the slideshow as you wish. You can also flip through the properties using the next and previous icons as you wish.
The "Map" module is used to place all of the properties that the link's search returns onto a map. Up to 25 of the results that match the link that was set up will be displayed. Hovering over the properties will bring up a small box that will show some quick information about the property. When a visitor clicks on any of the properties, our fully-featured dsSearchAgent IDX solution will open up in a new window and will instantly load that property.
The "Map Search" module is a scaled-down version of the full IDX search and allows you to search for properties in a more condensed fashion. You will be able to search for properties by price, beds, baths, and size (sq ft), and the top 25 properties that were found will be displayed on the map. When a visitor hovers over a property, some quick stats are displayed along with a picture. If a visitor wishes to see different properties according to a custom sort order, you can easily change it. Finally, you can click on the link showing the total number of results displayed to go to the main IDX.
Conclusion
Built with the continuous input of many agents and power brokers from around the country, our Diverse Solutions' dsSearchAgent IDX program is distinctive in far more ways than any IDX program before it. It exudes professionalism on many levels and excels at the ultimate goal of serving web site visitors and converting you into lifetime clients. It is intuitive and simple enough for novices, yet powerful enough for even the most advanced and demanding users. With so much to offer, and with the knowledge that dsSearchAgent brings with it over two decades of combined software engineering experience, you'll see why it's different the moment you start using it.
