Realogy subsidiary Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC has added new search tools to its website, the company has announced.
A lifestyle search tool allows users to rate elements of a neighborhood that matter (or don’t matter) to them and then finds neighborhoods that match their criteria in a given geographic area.
Criteria can include whether the neighborhood is rich in shops and services, public transit, nightlife, art and music venues, good schools, and/or golf courses; whether it’s in a rural or urban area; and whether it matches their price range.
"We recognize that a home’s value is more than its bedrooms and bathrooms," said Helen Galasso, the company’s vice president of platform development and e-business, in a statement.
"For some homebuyers, school districts are crucial. For others, the neighborhood’s location can make or break their decision. Our new lifestyle search option on ColdwellBanker.com allows people to intuitively narrow in on communities that fit their needs and then pinpoint the perfect home."
The search is powered by real estate information and technology company Onboard Informatics.
Coldwell Banker also added an affordability tool to help first-time homebuyers figure out if they can afford a particular home. The tool is located next to the estimated monthly payment given for each listing result after a search.
Users can plug in their annual income, total monthly debts, their available funds, their interest rate, and their loan term to find out what they can afford, including monthly payment, loan amount, home purchase price, down payment and closing costs. Users can save their results to their site profiles.
