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Comment by mlapeter | Hacker News Reader

Funny you mention local real estate websites, that's actually been something I've been thinking of. I'm a real estate broker learning to program, and my "muse" hopeful is http://mysinglepropertywebsites.com/, which is targeted towards real estate agents. Average age of agents is 54, and they have a lot of pain points. I'm still pretty weak on programming but deep on real estate industry knowledge, if you (or anyone else) is actually interested in that area email me: mlapeter at gmail.

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I'm also a real estate broker. And a programmer. And a few other things ;-)

We looked at this exact market a bit. In the course of doing our research, we found a company with a similar (but better...or at least more functional) offering than the one you cite. And all of the sites are completely FREE for real estate agents. It's difficult to compete with a company that has a nice, easy-to-use system that is FREE. And they're just starting to market nationally. We eventually just started using them instead of developing our own...and we're a company with 50+ full-time developers on staff. I'd genuinely be interested in your ideas if you have a way to compete with free...

Are you talking about Postlets? I'm actually just getting involved in a property (leasing) related business and it's going to be a great stopgap for us while I build the real site

Not Postlets. The site I'm talking about used to charge $10 per listing directly to agents, but they now have a bulk listing package which is completely underwritten for active real estate agents by third parties, including lenders. It complies with all RESPA rules. I bought one of the bulk listing packages to offer to agents. (I also own a mortgage bank and a few brokerage offices.) Where are you located?

We're in Los Angeles. Getting started by filling vacancies in a few key markets in the general LA area. Website is still under development; I still have a day-job, So we're using Postlets right now.

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