Social media site launches a real estate section

Folks in Houston can now browse local home listings on social media. Nextdoor, a neighborhood-based social media platform, has launched a real estate section in Houston.

It is one of 10 U.S. cities to see the launch of a real estate page by Nextdoor, which started in 2011 and has grown to fill its own social media niche. It is a private network displaying users’ real names and addresses that allows only verified neighborhood residents to join.

Real estate agents are the most prolific creators of personal business pages on Nextdoor, company statistics show, followed by pet sitters, tutors and handymen. The new section will be as much a place for residents to parse home listings as a place for real estate agents to find leads and build business, the company said.

“Real estate has always been one of the top categories for us on Nextdoor,” said Ali Jafari, vice president of business development at Nextdoor. “Now we’ve got a product that actually lets agents market themselves and build their brands.”

Real estate agents also will be able to sponsor a neighborhood and be listed as the local contact for every Nextdoor user there. The agents would pay a monthly fee ranging from a few hundred dollars to “prices that are much higher than that,” depending on neighborhood density and home prices, Jafari said.

With the push of a touch-screen button, anyone browsing the real estate section on Nextdoor will be able to ask their neighborhood sponsor real estate-related questions.

The company has partnered with local brokerages to channel local home listings directly into the Nextdoor news feed. Users only will see homes in their neighborhood and nearby neighborhoods. The section also will show a list of local open houses.

“We think our members will browse the real estate section on Nextdoor similar to how people browse the real estate section in the local paper,” Jafari said. “People want to know what homes are selling for in their neighborhood.”