In the old days, buying a home was much simpler. You went to the house, checked it out, and made an offer. But these days, getting a new home is a family affair. You might have parents, in-laws, or siblings across the country who want to help and share an opinion. Maybe you have a friend or two whose opinions you value. Or maybe you have a spouse and want to tag team the search process. However you want to collaborate, the new Collections app from Compass makes it easier!

The only downside is that Compass, a modern real estate firm with a web based focus similar to RedFin, only operates in limited high-end markets, and the Collections app is only available for homes in those markets. Cities include New York, Washington DC, Miami, Boston, The Hamptons, Los Angeles, Orange County, Santa Barbara, Aspen, and the San Francisco Bay Area.

Pinterest style organization

Compass gives you Pinterest style layout, known as a Masonry layout or columned layout. Each block contains details about the home including a photo, price, size, bedroom and bathroom counts, and the next open house date.

You can choose to add a home to your Collection, where you can view homes you are interested in together. You can create one or multiple groups of homes to view in different Collections.

Social sharing and collaboration

Once you have homes in Collections, you can invite friends and family to join and participate in your home search process. They can create Collections for you to view, or you can invite them to your Collections to join in on your home search.

Visitors to your Collections can even leave comments on property photos, sharing what they like and don’t like about each home. This gives everyone around the country, or around the world, an opportunity to chime in on your property search.

Agents can join in

Not only can your family and friends join in and comment, your agent can participate as well. Your agent can comment and discuss the properties as well, which makes the process more collaborative and fun!

Even better, a proactive agent might see your mom say, “this house looks great!” And can quickly reply, “do you want me to setup a showing?” No more playing middle man when your agent is involved in the entire conversation!

Track and monitor homes

The Pinterest style layout is great for finding, discussing, and collaborating when it comes to your home search, but it can do more to help with your search. As homes come and go from the market, Compass will send you status updates.

This takes a lot of the guessing out of your home search. With live, instant status updates as homes come on the market and leave the market, you know you are using your time well as you search for the perfect home.

You still need an agent

Even with huge leaps forward in online real estate technology, the agent still has an important role. Your agent is your partner in finding the best home, negotiating the best price, and leading you through a smooth and easy close. Technology has not replaced the agent just yet, and it looks like agents will be sticking around for many years to come.

Whether you are looking for your first home or you are an experienced homeowner with a few properties in your past, your agent is the best tool in finding the best home at the best price. Before you look for a home, find the best agent. Find the perfect agent for your needs at AgentHarvest.

If you are buying or selling a house and are looking to hire a successful real estate agent to help you through the process, take a look at AgentHarvest's list of top-ranking local Realtors in your area. We found these agents by examining their sales track records, awards, rankings, client testimonials and by conducting personal interviews.