Florida, Arizona and Nevada were once again top traffic destinations for international buyers.  Florida attracted 31.04% of all international traffic to the U.S, while Arizona increased it’s share from 15.15% in Q3 to 19.44%.  Nevada maintained its 3rd place spot with an 8.61% share of traffic.

Canadian traffic was once again the highest source for online visits, with 93.58% going to Arizona, 78.28% to Hawaii and 74.11% to Michigan.

Las Vegas retained it’s top spot on the report’s overall ‘top 20′ cities searched, with a share of 14.53% of all search traffic, and holding on to 90% of all the international traffic recorded for the state of Nevada.

But that’s not all!  To read the FULL report, make sure to download it here.

Along with this explosion of activity has come a desire for insight into the question of  just where are international buyers coming from? To answer this question we dug deep into the data from Point2Homes.com and came up with some interesting results in regards to where international traffic is coming from, and where it is headed.

Florida properties emerged as the lead attraction for foreigners online, followed by Arizona and Nevada real estate listings. Florida real estate listings captured 33.03 percent of the international traffic recorded to all U.S. states during the quarter. Arizona attracted 15.15 percent and Nevada 8.22 percent.

Canadian traffic made up 91.89 percent of the overall international traffic to Arizona listings, 75.90 percent to Hawaii, 73.92 percent to Michigan, 70.55 percent to Nevada and 65.05 percent to California. Puerto Rico, also covered in the report, ranked tenth on the list, with 16.82 percent of the traffic.

Las Vegas ranked first (14.53%) on the report’s overall ‘top 20’ cities in the nation category for online properties searched by international visitors. The top 20 list includes eight cities in Florida, four in California and three in Arizona. Las Vegas real estate listings attracted 91.73 percent of all the international traffic recorded for the state of Nevada during the third quarter, with Canada as the leading source at 70.47 percent. The UK followed at 5.28 percent and France at 2.19 percent.

Want the FULL report with all the juicy data? Feel free to download it right here.

Just last week we debuted our brand new Express Tools suite of apps,and this week we are excited to unveil a brand new look for our real estate search site, Point2 Homes.

What does this shiny new coat of paint mean for those browsing for real estate?

Besides being (hopefully) pleasant to look at, we have made some subtle design tweaks that should increase the ease at which people pull crucial information from a listing – things such as the price, listing agent, property photos, and contact information.  All with the end goal of generating more leads for those agents whose listings are on Point2 Homes.

Look for some more great announcements coming shortly!

During the month of July we ran a promotion for our Canadian members to win a free Apple iPad.  With the purchase of each Spotlight Ad for Point2Homes.com during the month of July, an entry was made into the draw for the iPad.

I’m pleased to announce that Karen Kenyon of Nanoose Bay, BC has been selected as our lucky winner.

Karen shares, “I have been very impressed with the Spotlight Ads, not only because they get your listing great exposure, but vendors love the feedback about the web views.  Spotlight Ads are the best value for your advertising dollars.”

Karen’s feedback echoes what many of our members feel when using Spotlight Ads as an integral part of their listing marketing.

Bummed out you didn’t win the iPad yourself?  Don’t be sad.  Because of the premium placement on Point2 Homes, your listings potentially received far more views than if you hadn’t used a Spotlight Ad.  You still win!

With Point2 Homes Spotlight Ads your listings appear at the forefront of millions of eyeballs, featured right front and center on one of the highest traffic consumer search sites for listings.  That exposure is a valuable boost to your listing marketing.

For more reasons why you should use Point2 Homes Spotlight Ads read this post.

Congratulations Karen on winning the Apple iPad!  I am sure you’ll have tons of fun with it and find it very useful for your real estate business.

Stay tuned for more great giveaways and promotions from Point2 in the future!

The Apple iPad has been available in Canada now for a couple months and no doubt, as was in the US, many real estate professionals are looking at the various options to see if it will work well for their business needs.

In fact, since the iPad was released in the US back in April, there has been a lot written about using this device for real estate.  So, I’m not going to reinvent the wheel and write about it here.  Instead, I’ve created a collection of links to some of these articles, tips, tricks, and lists of apps that might be able to help you put the iPad to good use in your real estate business.

• 10 iPad for Real Estate Tips & Apps
• iThink iNeed iPad for Real Estate
• The iPad and Real Estate: What You Need to Know
• iPad for Realtors – Part 1: Apps – It Will Be How They Find You
• iPad for Realtors – Part 2: Facebook and Google
• 5 Ways iPad Will Reinvent Real Estate for Agents in the Next 5 Years
• Is iPad a real estate tool or toy? (requires INMAN News membership)
• Apple iPad for Real Estate Agents

There are probably many more blog posts and articles about using the iPad for real estate that I have missed, so feel free to share any that you’ve come across by adding the links in the comments below.

I know that I’ve learned a lot about the Apple iPad from these other real estate specific experts.  Where before I had my doubts about the iPad being useful for business, after actually seeing and playing with an iPad I can definitely see the potential for use in real estate.   (Also, it’s great for playing games!)

I haven’t personally spoken to any real estate agents using an iPad, so I’d love to hear your feedback about how you’re using your iPad for your business.  What Apps are you using?  What do you find works great?  What doesn’t?

**Contest is now closed.  Stay tuned for more great giveaways from Point2 Agent.**  Don’t have an iPad yet?  Well, if you’re in Canada, we have good news for you.  You still have a week to be entered into a draw to win a brand new Apple iPad (16GB Wi-Fi + 3G) during our special promotion.  All you have to do is purchase a Spotlight Ad for Point2 Homes before July 31 (that’s just 5 more days, folks!) and you’ll be automatically entered into the draw.  Full promotion details can be found here.

Consistently one of the highest traffic consumer search sites for listings, Point2 Homes views continue to grow each month.  If you use Point2 Agent or have your listings syndicated through Point2, your listings are already appearing on Point2Homes.com.

That’s a perfect start.

Want more?  If you want to have your listing at the forefront of millions of eyeballs, then it makes sense to feature your listing right front and center.  Point2 Homes’ Spotlight Ads provide you with this ability.

Premium featured placement for your listings on Point2 Homes can be yours for just $25.  Your listing will be displayed prominently, in front of many thousands of potential buyers, for 30 days.  That’s less than $1 a day.  Can you afford to?  Can you afford not to?

Here’s what one of our long-time members Norm Fisher has to say about his experiences with Spotlight Ads:

“…You’ll likely double the number of detailed views your listings receive on Point2Homes. I spend most of my advertising budget online and Point2 spotlight ads deliver the best return on a cost per click basis.”

In addition to Norm, many of our members have had great success using Spotlight Ads to advertise their listings.  You can too.

You can purchase Spotlight Ads for any of your listings very easily.

View our quick tutorial to learn how.

**Contest is now closed.  Stay tuned for more giveaways from Point2 Agent.**

Right now, our Canadian members have even more reason to purchase Spotlight Ads during the month of July.  We’re giving away a brand new Apple iPad.  In order to receive an entry into the draw, you must purchase a Spotlight Ad for Point2 Homes during the month of July.  The more you buy, the more entries you receive.

For full promotion details please click here.