RBI Springs Forward with New Features

New Embed Sizes. New Share function. New Excel formatting. New Pendings.

We are pleased to announce our latest release that includes several enhancements we'll cover below. The focus of this release was making custom graphs you build (within the Interactive Charts section) easier to embed on your site or share via email or social networking platforms. Highlights include...

More Embed sizes - Now includes 4 sizes for optimized viewing on your webpage: XL(785x440), Large (620x330), Medium (540x330), Small: (300x280)

Sharing function - Creates a standalone URL for your custom chart that can be shared via Facebook, Twitter, email or MySpace (it's still around we think)

Export to Excel - Revamped the formatting, saving you the time previously needed to expand columns, etc. on the exported data spreadsheet

New Pendings - Added to the Market Activity facet bar. Total Pendings is still there, but this gives you a more timely view of contract activity.

Sold Price to Original List Price - Interactive Chart now covers the more precise "average ratio" rather than "ratio of the averages" (don't worry, we dive into the weeds below)

Keep reading to learn more about each enhancement...

Multiple Embed Sizes

Before this release, our simple embed steps allowed for one size, and that size was a bit bigger than many of our subscribers needed. Now, if you click the 'Embed' link on top of the Interactive Chart, you'll be offered three additional sizes - and can preview them right there before copying the code to your site. We've included examples of the Large, Medium, and Small sizes below. Much better than copying and pasting a flat file because you'll have the actual values on-hover. And we still include the option to select auto-update (where charts on your site will update when next month's data is added) or fixed range (where the end month remains perpetually fixed on your site)...

Example 1 (Large)

A look at the number of bank-mediated listings that went to contract in the previous 6 months in Loudoun. Note, this is the 'New Pending' metric was unavailable prior to this release.

Example 2 (Medium)

A view of bank-mediated vs. non-bank-mediated listings that went to contract, or remain under contract, in the previous 6 months in Loudoun (AKA: All Pendings). Guess which type of bank-mediated status is taking the longest to settle.

Example 3 (Small)

Sold Price trends in Loudoun between bank-mediated vs. non-bank-mediated over the past 12 months. Tells a story, but until you break down the cost/benefit of short sale hunting with bargain-seeking clients backed with additional data (see Example 2!), be careful with this tale!

Unique/Custom URL for Social Networking

Realizing that not all of our subscribers have the time/inclination to host their own website and would rather position their market knowledge via Facebook or Twitter, we've added the ability to take a custom chart and create a standalone page for you to Tweet (such a silly term) or Facebook post (c'mon FB, we need a silly verb for this). The challenge had been how to let your audience behind the RBI authentication layer...problem solved.

As an example, we've created and promoted a chart on our RBI Facebook page (be sure to hit the 'Like' button while you're there!). We'd recommend using the 'say something about this link...' form to add your voice to the analysis drawn. Recurring Twitter links to custom charts can be an effective way to get yourself retweeted and grow your followers.

This function is available per Interactive Chart, simply click on the 'Share' icon/link above the Facet bar. Click here for an example of a custom page.

Formatted Excel Output

Like the Share/Embed features outlined above, you can output data to Excel in a matter of seconds. Simply click on the 'Print/Export' icon above any chart and click the 'Output to XLS' link. Whereas before you'd have to do some extra formatting to the CSV output, we've gone ahead and adjusted the columns and reformatted the headers for you.  Some examples:

Avg Sold Price to OLP by DOM Range for Alexandria, VA

Sold Listings by Home Type for Montgomery County, MD

Median Sold Price by Home Type for 22204 over 60 months

New Pendings option added to Interactive Charts

We've introduced "New Pendings" to the Market Activity Module, giving RBI subscribers even more visibility into the state of inventory for their Region or ZIP code. New Pendings is a count of listings that changed to either Contingent or Under Contract during the month (New Pendings=New Under Contracts + New Contingents). This measure differs from "All Pendings" ( a count of listings that ended the month in either Contingent or Under Contract status, even if they changed to that status 3 months ago).

SP to OLP Ratio - Replacement calculation

After much internal discussion and checking in with many in the RE stat geek community, we've decided to go ahead and replace the old (now bear with us) Ratio of Average Sold Price to Average Original List Price (aggregate) with the Average Sold to Original List Price Ratio (per transaction). You'll see the new calculation on our Stats page in the Summary Section, on the Stat Map, and in the Interactive Chart. Note - if you are a fan of the legacy calculation - you can still get it per location in the Detailed Report, where we list the value for both of these calculations.  If you've read up to this point, here's a scenario to help illuminate the difference:

Scenario
Listing A: List Price = 100,000; Sold Price = 90,000; Ratio = 90%
Listing B: List Price = 200,000; Sold Price = 150,000; Ratio = 75%
Listing C: List Price = 1,000,000; Sold Price = 700,000; Ratio = 70%

• Average Sold Price to List Price Ratio - This represents the average of the ratios for the gross sales price to the original list price for individual listings. Uses the Average of the Ratios ((90+75+70)/3) = 78.3%   (does not use the aggregated values)
• Ratio of Average Sold Price to Average List Price - This is the ratio of the aggregated average gross sold price to the aggregated average original list price of listings.  Uses the Aggregated Averages and obtains the Ratio - (313,333/433,333) = 72.3%

That about wraps up the changes encompassed in this release. As always, if you have any questions or concerns, get in touch with us via the 'Contact Us' form or post a comment below.