InfoSparks: Transforming Statistics Into Stories

“What’s the market like?” It’s a question that every broker and appraiser hears on a daily basis and also a question that can be extremely hard to answer. Real estate professionals and consumers alike are bombarded with data points that lack relevancy for their particular market and are frequently based on inaccurate data.

To compound the issue, real estate pricing trends are often rattled off without providing context. Statements like “The market is up 15%!” sound exciting, but what does that mean? How did the author arrive at that number? What was the methodology used? For what period of time?

IRES has a simple answer. Real estate statistics become relevant when they are provided by the most trusted source of data, the MLS, in an easy to understand, customizable format. MLSs by their very nature are data rich but knowing how to extract and utilize that data for analysis can not only be a bit daunting but time consuming.

With that in mind, IRES recently partnered with 10K Research and Marketing to bring InfoSparks to IRESis. InfoSparks is, simply put, a module that transforms raw housing data into beautiful, interactive charts that allow the broker to paint a picture of the market.

Using InfoSparks, brokers have the ability to visually illustrate local housing trends. Rather than focusing on dry, spreadsheet-formatted data, brokers can use the InfoSparks charts to tell a story. For example, a downward sloping line over the past five years reflects the number of homes for sale and an upward trend on the next chart shows the increase in median sales price. InfoSparks graphics are just easier to understand and much more fun to look at. People get it. The stats makes sense.

Counts such as new, under contract, sold and active listings are included, of course. But where InfoSparks really shines is in more complex analysis. Interested in seeing median pricing trends on two bedrooms versus three bedroom homes in Boulder? InfoSparks can do that.

Now, let’s take it a step further. What if you want to compare two bedrooms versus three bedroom homes in Boulder, Longmont and Niwot all at once? That’s easy too! In just a few clicks of the mouse, your clients can have a full understanding of their local market from a trusted source: their real estate broker. Most importantly, you, too, can trust the data since it comes directly from IRES, your preferred MLS.

Find InfoSparks under the Reports menu on IRES

We know you’re going to love the power of statistics wrapped up in a beautiful package. We believe InfoSparks will become one of your most useful communication tools. IRES is offering several webinars and classes covering InfoSparks or watch the Intro video below. We’d love for you to attend to learn more about sharing your custom housing trend reports online, in print, via email and even with live data widgets. Best of all, there’s no additional charge for IRES subscribers!