Expedia Founder Applies His Know-How to Real Estate. Richard Barton says his Internet venture will provide valuable data to buyers and sellers. A decade ago, Richard Barton launched Expedia.com and helped transform the travel industry by handing consumers the same tools to book reservations that travel agents had long controlled. Now, Barton is applying the same approach to real estate — and is banking on equally dramatic results. Today, he will unveil a beta-test version of Zillow.com, the latest website to offer property information that has until recently been beyond the reach of the average buyer or seller who didn't engage a real estate agent. As Barton sees it, Zillow can be the real estate equivalent of the auto world's Kelley Blue Book. By typing in an address, the user gets an instant valuation of one home or all homes on a street or neighborhood. To get that information, Zillow would pore over county records and other government data on 60 million homes nationwide. It then would use proprietary computer analysis to determine current values, which the company calls "zestimates." The Seattle-based company's objective is to create as complete a record as possible on individual properties. Providing a home's history, including all past sales transactions, tax assessments and other details, should help put buyers and sellers on better footing during a real estate transaction, Barton says. By cracking open the real estate process, "consumers will make better decisions and become smarter," Barton said during a brief demonstration of his website. "People want to be empowered with information so they can take control of what is scary and difficult and fraught with frustrations." Giving consumers more access to information could lead them "to negotiate more economically sound prices with real estate agents," he said. Many people don't know values even in their own neighborhoods, he said. Zillow could even lead to lower commissions — much like Expedia did with travel fees, Barton said. Zillow is hardly the first real estate site to help consumers figure out a home's value. IAC/InterActiveCorp's Domania, HomeGain, HouseValues and other sites were established in the last few years as appetite for real estate information expanded along with home prices. But computer-based valuations can be as much as 30% off the mark, industry experts say, because the business of selling homes tends to be more an art than science. Click here to read more.
CALIFORNIA AND THE WEST. Strong Economic Outlook for Region. Southern California's economy will outgrow the national economy this year and next, capitalizing on strong outlooks for aerospace, high technology, international trade, professional business services and tourism and travel. But the region's entertainment and retailing industries face challenges. And housing will provide less stimulus than before, as sales of existing homes will decline this year while prices flatten. Those are among the predictions in the latest forecast by the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp., a nonprofit business advocacy organization. The forecast calls for the five-county Southland region to grow 3.7% this year, versus 3.6% for the entire state and 3.3% for the nation. Next year, the Southland will grow 3.3%, versus 3.2% for the state and 3% for the nation, the forecast said. Job creation should be healthy this year, paced by Riverside-San Bernardino, which will post the region's fastest job growth rate at 2.1%, or 25,200 jobs. Orange County's jobs will grow 1.6%, or 24,300 positions, and Los Angeles County will expand 0.9%, or 37,900 jobs, the report said. The region's housing boom is slowing, but office construction will help offset softness in residential real estate, the forecast said. Office vacancy rates continue to fall, encouraging construction, the report said. However, the high cost of commercial real estate offers challenges. Companies owning valuable real estate can sell or relocate, especially if the destination state offers incentives, the report said. Shortages of available land in the urban cores of Los Angeles and Orange counties and a tight market for industrial space also pose challenges. Click here to read more.
Construction to drive '06. The construction industry will continue to be one of the strongest sectors in the San Bernardino-Riverside county market this year, according to a report released today by the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp. While new homebuilding will be down in 2006 and 2007, construction jobs in all fields of real estate will still be a significant force, said Jack Kyser, chief economist for the LAEDC. Besides jobs from the construction industry, the Inland Empire is also expected to get boosts from government jobs and those in the transportation/warehouse/utilities sector. Altogether the new jobs created should cause Inland Empire personal income to post a record 7.2 percent gain in 2006. Construction jobs are expected to be one of the largest areas for job gains within Riverside and San Bernardino counties, according to the report. The construction increases are expected to come from the industrial and office markets. The construction industry will supply the region with 7,500 jobs while government jobs, which include Indian tribes, will add 3,500 jobs. The transportation/warehouse/utilities sector will gain 2,800 jobs. With the new jobs created, unemployment is expected to decrease in the Inland Empire. The region's unemployment rate will move down to 4.9 percent during 2006 while total civilian employment in the two-county area will grow 3.1 percent, or 49,000 jobs in 2006. Click here to read more.
~Tina Jan~
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