1. AllApartments as a Professional Resource. ... I've written before about how real estate professionals can use consumer-oriented sites for market research. ... A good example is AllApartments.com, which receives over 600,000 visits a month from consumers (prospective renters) seeking rental information. But AllApartments can be of great benefit to the real estate industry by allowing owners and managers to reduce their marketing expenses and make better pricing decisions

Here's how you can use it. ... Say you want to do a rental survey of competitive apartment developments. Go to AllApartments at www.allapartments.com. First, fill in the name of the city and state. Then enter the address of the subject property in the option "Show a map of the closest apartments." Select a rental range and amenity package. You'll generate a list of the five closest apartment developments with that asking rent range. Each property is geocoded to show the distance from the subject property, and you can click the name of the apartment project for an electronic brochure. You can even generate driving directions between the two properties. All of this in a few minutes with a few clicks of your mouse.

2. Vallejo Raises the Economic Development Bar. ... Many economic development organizations are now online, mostly with comprehensive brochures and demographic statistics. ... Now along comes the Vallejo, CA, "GIS Internet Program" at www.ci.vallejo.ca.us/ed.html. You can "Find a building space for your business, view interactive maps, create demographic reports for any location in Vallejo, analyze businesses by geographic location...If you are a real estate broker, leasing agent or owner, you can add or delete your building spaces on-line to our GIS database. All buildings added to the database will be immediately available to all users." ... Wow, that sounds pretty slick, and it is, if you have a relatively fast connection. But as you zoom in and out of the interactive maps, you're downloading lots of graphics and Java applets. So it's slow. Still it is pretty incredible to look at pictures, maps, space available and demographics with a click or two of your mouse.

3. Out Source Your E-Newsletters. ... Publishing e-newsletters with targeted news and market information will become increasingly important for real estate professionals. With e-mail emerging as a primary means of business communication, your clients, tenants and investors will expect regular correspondence from you. PikeNet will shortly offer you the capability of sending your own e-newsletters, including HTML formatted e-mail. Interested? Write to me at .

4. Knowledge Base--Weather for a Business Trip. ... Have a question about weather on your next business trip? ... CNN provides four-day forecasts for 6,100 cities worldwide. Plus you have quick access to satellite pictures and radar maps for a quick visual check up. ... You'll find step-by-step instructions in the PikeNet Knowledge Base (top of home page) under the Maps and Directions section, or use the URL below:

http://www.pikenet.com/pike?func=showPublicPage&page=
questions/questions/question076

5. Web News. ... Watson Land Company, a developer of industrial and office centers in Los Angeles County, has upgraded its web site--a great example of a good Internet presence. ... Realty Income is a REIT specializing in properties leased to regional and national retail chains. You'll find three properties available for sale under "Portfolio Management." ... City Center in Oakland, CA, is now online. ApartmentOwner.com is a new site created by Dixie Hall as a resource for apartment managers and owners.

6. Sponsor a PikeNet Dispatch. ... Are you launching a new product or service? Want to deliver your URL and marketing information to over 5,625 real estate professionals? ... For full details, click the online "Media Kit" under the Billboard on the home page or use the hyperlink below:

http://www.pikenet.com/advertising/advertising.html

--Peter Pike