By Teresa King Kinney, CEO, Realtor Association of Greater Miami and The Beaches
In a competitive real estate market like the one in South Florida, real estate professionals require the best services to target and better serve their clients. Premier, exclusive services are the foundation to building a successful real estate business.
Prospective homebuyers are not just looking for a great home; they also want a great community. When making the most important buying decision of their lives, they have many factors to evaluate. One of the main issues to consider is the proximity of good schools for their children to attend.
Next to price, neighborhood school quality is the No. 1 consideration for potential buyers. According to the 2004 National Association of Realtors Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers, quality schools was the most influential factor for prospective buyers when deciding to purchase a home.
Good schools also impact communities at large. A recent study by the National Tax Journal indicates that school quality directly affects home values. To help real estate professionals qualify and better serve their clients, the Realtor Association of Greater Miami and the Beaches (RAMB) has obtained access to GreatSchools.net as a new service for its members. GreatSchools.net is the nation’s leading online guide to K-12 schools and provides objective information for public, private and charter schools.
For South Florida and the entire United States, GreatSchools.net provides detailed school profiles and more. Agents and buyers are able to search a particular area and find comprehensive school profiles. Some of the other things you can do with GreatSchools.net include:
• Searching for public, private and charter schools by state, city, school district, county and street address
• Obtaining school test scores, demographic profiles, enrollment and contact information
• Accessing parent ratings and reviews
• Using tools to compare schools
• Obtaining help for parents by accessing trustworthy advice on a variety of topics like communicating with teachers and the special education system
• View parent friendly articles and email news letters on a wide range of education-related topics.
When shopping for a home, RAMB and GreatSchools.net provide real estate agents with the information their clients need to choose schools, support their children’s education and improve schools in their communities.
RAMB members can add the GreatSchools.net school data to their member Web sites. By providing up-to-date and accurate school information, they are in a better position to capture more home buyers and help those buyers make better informed buying decisions. It also shortens the sales cycle for real estate agents and brokers by allowing them to immediately provide information buyers need.
Members of other associations can contract individually for the service. Information and costs are available at Greatschools.net.
The 12,500-member Realtor Association of Greater Miami and the Beaches (RAMB) includes the Residential Association, Realtors Commercial Alliance and the largest local International Real Estate Council in the nation. RAMB has been serving the industry, public and community for 85 years.