HBuzz

If a picture is worth a thousand words, then Adam Lee and his digital-camera-equipped employees are providing the 105 agents at Abe Lee Realty a novel's worth of information on a daily basis. The 25-year-old Lee, son of the company's namesake, is the founder and CEO of BrokersEye.com, an innovative Web site that provides dozens of digital images of every residential property that comes up for sale on the island.

BrokersEye.com is designed to work in conjunction with the Honolulu Board of Realtors' MLS online listings. Therefore, it doesn't duplicate any of the information found on the Web site, with the exception of the asking price. Instead, BrokersEye.com features a couple dozen photos and a brief assessment of the property. But these aren't random shots. Not only do staffers take photos of the home itself, they also shoot the property's neighbors, views and any distinguishing characteristics, like an unusually steep grade or a long driveway.

Picture This: Adam Lee's Web site gives Realtors a better view of Oahu properties. Photo: Cory Lum

"It's really a lot easier to make a decision on a home if you have a photo to look at," says Lee. "Realtors are only seeing two or three listings at the most on a daily basis. That's why oftentimes buying and selling real estate is a hit-or-miss situation."

Lee scans the MLS hot sheet, which lists the properties coming on the market for the day, every 15 minutes. When a new property shows up, he'll dispatch one of his six photographer/driver/agents, who are constantly circling the island. Three of these roving reporters are licensed Realtors. The other three are studying to take the real estate exam.

BrokersEye.com went live in November of last year and, as of early January, had more than 1,500 properties listed.

Lee had originally planned on sharing his web site's photos with all of Oahu's Realtors, charging clients a $39-a-month subscription fee. However, the service proved too powerful a sales tool, so Adam decided to sell the business to his father and keep the Web site in house, giving the firm a competitive advantage. The Lees would not disclose the sale price

"Seventy percent of MLS's listings don't have photos and if they do, there are only a handful of pictures, probably taken from the front seat of a car," says Lee. "We are significantly increasing the level of service that Realtors provide their clients and significantly speeding up transaction times."
David K. Choo

High in the Sky

Honolulu native Jarrett Young remembers when interisland airfare cost him no more than $60 each way. His father, Greg, recalls even better times, when coupons could be purchased for as little as $40 each. It's been a while, though, since the days of low fares and frequent interisland travel, as evidenced in the latest market study conducted by local research firm SMS Hawaii, which, for the fourth consecutive year, shows a decline in the number of Hawaii residents traveling interisland. Since 2001, that figure has declined by 18 percent, while the number of residents flying to the Mainland increased marginally over the same period. Source: SMS Hawaii Rate hikes, however, are just one of several factors influencing the changing travel habits, according to SMS Hawaii Chairman Hersh Singer. "Business travelers are utilizing more telecommunication devices to manage Neighbor Island business, and then there's the change in demographic characteristics of Hawaii residents - we have more and more people living in Hawaii who were born on the Mainland, so, when they fly, that's where they go," says Singer. "And then local residents who do want to fly interisland find the price structure too expensive - they want to get to the Neighbor Islands, but it's costing them nearly the same amount as a trip to L.A." Which kind of makes you wonder whatever happened to price-demand elasticity. Jacy L. Youn