Method and system for providing real estate information using a computer network, such as the internet

Abstract

The present invention provides methods and systems for providing real-estate information using a computer network, such as the Internet. A buyer information web page showing relevant buyer list information in an easy-to-read, summary format is created and displayed to a real estate agent. Buyer information provided includes summaries of various aspects of information needed by a real estate agent to effectively represent and assist a buyer. Examples of information provided include a potential buyer name, a new activity summary summarizing newly-listed properties and other activity meeting the buyer's profile, a new views summary summarizing any views of detailed property information by the buyer using an online property data search and information system provided by the agent, and a new tags summary summarizing any properties that the buyer or the agent finds of particular interest. Moreover, a comparative market analysis (CMA) list web page showing relevant CMA information in an easy-to-read, summary format is also created and displayed to the real estate agent.

1 - 46 . (canceled) 
     
     
         47 . A computer-implemented method of sharing real estate information between a real estate professional and a consumer, the method comprising the steps implemented by one or more computers of:
 connecting to a database of real estate data, the real estate data including for-sale properties and characteristics of the for-sale properties;   storing an account for a consumer, the account being for use by the consumer to access at least some of the real estate data from the database;   storing an account for a real estate professional, the account being for use by the real estate professional to access at least some of the real estate data from the database and provide real estate services;   providing the real estate professional and the consumer with the ability to search through the real estate data by entering a property profile for the consumer, the property profile reflecting criteria for identifying properties of interest to the consumer;   performing a search based on a property profile entered by one of the professional and consumer and matching the characteristics of the for-sale properties to the criteria reflected by the consumer profile, thereby deriving a subset of the for-sale properties corresponding to the matched properties; and   providing both the real estate professional and the consumer with access to at least one of (1) the property profile or (2) some of the subset of the for-sale properties when the professional and the consumer access their respective accounts, regardless of whether the real estate professional or the consumer entered the property profile and requested the search.   
     
     
         48 . The method of  claim 47 , further comprising the step of providing both the real estate professional and the consumer with the property profile and the same subset of the for-sale properties. 
     
     
         49 . The method of  claim 48 , wherein the subset of the for-sale properties provided to the consumer and the real estate professional includes all of the data derived in the searching step. 
     
     
         50 . The method of  claim 47 , wherein the derived subset of the for-sale properties was derived from a property profile entered by the real estate professional. 
     
     
         51 . The method of  claim 47 , wherein the derived subset of the for-sale properties was derived from a property profile entered by the consumer. 
     
     
         52 . The method of  claim 47 , wherein the property profile reflects a property characteristic desired by the consumer. 
     
     
         53 . The method of  claim 47 , wherein the property profile reflects a plurality of property characteristics desired by the consumer. 
     
     
         54 . The method of  claim 47 , wherein the derived subset of the for-sale properties are automatically accessible to the accounts of both the real estate professional and the consumer at approximately the time the search is completed. 
     
     
         55 . The method of  claim 47 , further comprising the step of permitting the consumer to tag some of the for-sale properties when accessing their account. 
     
     
         56 . The method of  claim 55 , further comprising the step of identifying to the real estate professional the properties that are tagged by the consumer when the real estate professional accesses their account. 
     
     
         57 . The method of  claim 47 , further comprising the step of permitting the real estate professional to tag some of the for-sale properties when accessing their account. 
     
     
         58 . The method of  claim 57 , further comprising the step of identifying to the consumer the properties that are tagged by the real estate professional when the consumer accesses their account. 
     
     
         59 . The method of  claim 47 , further comprising the steps of:
 storing data indicating particular for-sale properties viewed by the consumer; and   identifying the for-sale properties viewed by the consumer to the real estate professional when the real estate professional accesses their account.   
     
     
         60 . The method of  claim 47 , further comprising the step of providing the real estate professional with an indication of the last time the consumer logged into their account. 
     
     
         61 . The method of  claim 47 , further comprising the step of identifying the subset of the for-sale properties matching the consumer profile to an additional party associated with the consumer, the additional party being located at a computer located remotely from the real estate professional and the consumer. 
     
     
         62 . The method of  claim 47 , further comprising the step of maintaining an appointments database reflecting appointments to view the for-sale properties, and providing the real estate professional or the consumer with the ability to review the appointments. 
     
     
         63 . A computer-readable medium for storing instructions which, when executed on a processor, perform a computer-implemented method of sharing real estate information between a real estate professional and a consumer, the method comprising the steps implemented by one or more computers of:
 connecting to a database of real estate data, the real estate data including for-sale properties and characteristics of the for-sale properties;   storing an account for a consumer, the account being for use by the consumer to access at least some of the real estate data from the database;   storing an account for a real estate professional, the account being for use by the real estate professional to access at least some of the real estate data from the database and provide real estate services;   providing the real estate professional and the consumer with the ability to search through the real estate data by entering a property profile for the consumer, the property profile reflecting criteria for identifying properties of interest to the consumer;   performing a search based on a property profile entered by one of the professional and consumer and matching the characteristics of the for-sale properties to the criteria reflected by the consumer profile, thereby deriving a subset of the for-sale properties corresponding to the matched properties; and   providing both the real estate professional and the consumer with access to at least one of (1) the property profile or (2) some of the subset of the for-sale properties when the professional and the consumer access their respective accounts, regardless of whether the real estate professional or the consumer entered the property profile and requested the search.   
     
     
         64 . The computer-readable medium of  claim 63 , further comprising instructions for performing the step of providing both the real estate professional and the consumer with the property profile and the same subset of the for-sale properties. 
     
     
         65 . The computer-readable medium of  claim 64 , wherein the subset of the for-sale properties provided to the consumer and the real estate professional includes all of the data derived in the searching step. 
     
     
         66 . The computer-readable medium of  claim 63 , wherein the derived subset of the for-sale properties was derived from a property profile entered by the real estate professional. 
     
     
         67 . The computer-readable medium of  claim 63 , wherein the derived subset of the for-sale properties was derived from a property profile entered by the consumer. 
     
     
         68 . The computer-readable medium of  claim 63 , wherein the property profile reflects a property characteristic desired by the consumer. 
     
     
         69 . The computer-readable medium of  claim 63 , wherein the property profile reflects a plurality of property characteristics desired by the consumer. 
     
     
         70 . The computer-readable medium of  claim 63 , wherein the derived subset of the for-sale properties are automatically accessible to the accounts of both the real estate professional and the consumer at approximately the time the search is completed. 
     
     
         71 . The computer-readable medium of  claim 63 , further comprising instructions for performing the step of permitting the consumer to tag some of the for-sale properties when accessing their account. 
     
     
         72 . The computer-readable medium of  claim 71 , further comprising instructions for performing the step of identifying to the real estate professional the properties that are tagged by the consumer when the real estate professional accesses their account. 
     
     
         73 . The computer-readable medium of  claim 63 , further comprising instructions for performing the step of permitting the real estate professional to tag some of the for-sale properties when accessing their account. 
     
     
         74 . The computer-readable medium of  claim 73 , further comprising instructions for performing the step of identifying to the consumer the properties that are tagged by the real estate professional when the consumer accesses their account. 
     
     
         75 . The computer-readable medium of  claim 63 , further comprising instructions for performing the steps of:
 storing data indicating particular for-sale properties viewed by the consumer; and   identifying the for-sale properties viewed by the consumer to the real estate professional when the real estate professional accesses their account.   
     
     
         76 . The computer-readable medium of  claim 63 , further comprising instructions for performing the step of providing the real estate professional with an indication of the last time the consumer logged into their account. 
     
     
         77 . The computer-readable medium of  claim 63 , further comprising instructions for performing the step of identifying the subset of the for-sale properties matching the consumer profile to an additional consumer at a computer located remotely from the real estate professional and the consumer. 
     
     
         78 . The computer-readable medium of  claim 63 , further comprising instructions for maintaining an appointments database reflecting appointments to view the for-sale properties, and providing the real estate professional or the consumer with the ability to review the appointments. 
     
     
         79 . A system for sharing real estate information between a real estate professional and a consumer, the system comprising:
 a server;   a communications circuit for connecting the server to the internet;   a component for connecting to a database of real estate data, the real estate data including for-sale properties and characteristics of the respective for-sale properties;   a component for storing an account for a consumer, the account being for use by the consumer to access at least some of the real estate data from the database;   a component for storing an account for a real estate professional, the account being for use by the real estate professional to access at least some of the real estate data from the database and provide real estate services;   a component for providing the real estate professional and the consumer with the ability to search through the real estate data by entering a property profile for the consumer, the property profile reflecting criteria for identifying properties of interest to the consumer;   a component for performing a search based on a property profile entered by one of the professional and consumer and matching the characteristics of the for-sale properties to the criteria reflected by the consumer profile, thereby deriving a subset of the for-sale properties corresponding to the matched properties; and   a component for providing both the real estate professional and the consumer with access to at least one of (1) the property profile or (2) some of the subset of the for-sale properties when the professional and the consumer access their respective accounts, regardless of whether the real estate professional or the consumer entered the property profile and requested the search.   
     
     
         80 . The system of  claim 79 , further comprising a component for providing both the real estate professional and the consumer with the property profile and the same subset of the for-sale properties. 
     
     
         81 . The system of  claim 80 , wherein the subset of the for-sale properties provided to the consumer and the real estate professional includes all of the data derived in the searching step. 
     
     
         82 . The system of  claim 79 , wherein the derived subset of the for-sale properties was derived from a property profile entered by the real estate professional. 
     
     
         83 . The system of  claim 79 , wherein the derived subset of the for-sale properties was derived from a property profile entered by the consumer. 
     
     
         84 . The system of  claim 79 , wherein the property profile reflects a property characteristic desired by the consumer. 
     
     
         85 . The system of  claim 79 , wherein the property profile reflects a plurality of property characteristics desired by the consumer. 
     
     
         86 . The system of  claim 79 , wherein the derived subset of the for-sale properties are automatically accessible to the accounts of both the real estate professional and the consumer at approximately the time the search is completed. 
     
     
         87 . The system of  claim 79 , further comprising a component for permitting the consumer to tag some of the for-sale properties when accessing their account. 
     
     
         88 . The system of  claim 87 , further comprising a component for identifying to the real estate professional the properties that are tagged by the consumer when the real estate professional accesses their account. 
     
     
         89 . The system of  claim 79 , further comprising a component for permitting the real estate professional to tag some of the for-sale properties when accessing their account. 
     
     
         90 . The system of  claim 89 , further comprising a component for identifying to the consumer the properties that are tagged by the real estate professional when the consumer accesses their account. 
     
     
         91 . The system of  claim 79 , further comprising:
 a component for storing data indicating particular for-sale properties viewed by the consumer; and   a component for identifying the for-sale properties viewed by the consumer to the real estate professional when the real estate professional accesses their account.   
     
     
         92 . The system of  claim 79 , further comprising a component for providing the real estate professional with an indication of the last time the consumer logged into their account. 
     
     
         93 . The system of  claim 79 , further comprising a component for identifying the subset of the for-sale properties matching the consumer profile to an additional consumer at a computer located remotely from the real estate professional and the consumer. 
     
     
         94 . The system of  claim 79 , further comprising a component for maintaining an appointments database reflecting appointments to view the for-sale properties, and providing the real estate professional or the consumer with the ability to review the appointments.