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Coldwell
to offer online
home bidding

The service is expected to
cut costs and expedite the
buying and selling process

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By Tim Ruel
Star-Bulletin

Hawaii residents looking to buy a home or condominium have a new option: going online.

Coldwell Banker Pacific Properties today released a revamped version of its Web site -- http://www.cbpacific.com -- that lets viewers not only search for a homebut also submit a bid to purchase it.

"By offering this service, our agents will be able to reduce the time and paperwork involved in buying and selling homes, and spend more time helping their clients with other home-buying arrangements," said Scott Bradley, managing co-director of Coldwell Banker.

Bradley described home sales as a complex undertaking that often passes forms between dozens of people. To maximize savings, Coldwell Banker's goal is to get all of its listed homes -- an average of 1,100 a year -- sold through the Web, Bradley said.

Coldwell Banker created the site in partnership with Scottsdale, Ariz.-based Homebid.com, an Internet start-up that began putting up similar sites on the mainland a year ago.

The company does business with about 30 of the nation's top brokers in several states including California, Florida and New York. So far, in all locations, Homebid.com has registered a total of about 50 sales. Homebid.com spokesman Richard Burger said that number does not include buyers who may have used the sites to research properties they later bought through traditional means.

To purchase a home through Homebid.com, a buyer must still use a registered real estate agent, Burger said. Homebid.com generates revenues by charging agents fees based on the number of homes listed, usually about $95 each, Burger said.

Coldwell Banker does not charge fees to the customers and instead benefits from the efficiency of the site's service, Bradley said. "It's a great way to promote the properties also." The site provides detailed data on homes, such as size and number of bathrooms, as well as neighborhood demographics, sales statistics from comparable properties, virtual tours and information on local schools.

"It's kind of like an eBay with homes," real estate expert Michael Sklarz said when told of the project. Sklarz left his position as research director of Prudential Locations last year to create a Web-based home research tool with data consulting firm ISDI Inc.

Sklarz said one hitch with the Homebid.com concept is that shoppers tend to use the Web spontaneously to buy homogeneous items. The purchase of a home is an intricate process that takes the instant gratification out of online purchases, he said.

"I've always had reservations about buying big-ticket items like houses sight unseen," said Sklarz.

Coldwell Banker spokeswoman Melissa Chang said the company is continuing to encourage customers to visit homes first before buying online. But Chang noted that international and mainland clients have shown an interest in buying properties electronically without coming to the state.

Burger said Homebid.com has had the most success among California residents, who are known to be technology savvy and comfortable with online purchases. Also, its sites have appealed to those who are in a hurry to buy or sell. "They want to streamline and cut down the process as much as they possibly can," Burger said.

Homebid.com, a privately held company founded in November 1998, has about 50 employees.