A Broker’s Best ‘Friend’

Kate Foster, an Oregon agent and my wife's former college roommate, whom I reconnected with on Facebook), has shied away from using the site to actually market listings. But since joining Facebook in September, she's become very aware of how useful it can be to keep track of past clients, who are often among her best future customers. "It's been a really nice way to keep up on people without being obtrusive, just to kind of know what's going on," she says. That's especially true because many people routinely use the site to announce that they're getting married or expecting a child—the kind of life events that often lead to a real-estate transaction.

There are probably critics who aren't so keen on people using a technology originally aimed at fostering and maintaining friendships as a tool for commercial purposes. But it's hard for me to get too self-righteous about this—and not just because some of these people doing so are my friends. I joined Facebook just over a year ago because a colleague suggested it would be a great way to help promote my first book—although beyond posting a picture of the book's cover, I never really figured out how to use Facebook to drive book sales. But since signing on, I've reconnected with dozens of old friends from high school and college—and during a recession that's causing friends to change jobs unexpectedly, I'm glad to have such a convenient way to keep in touch as people's lives (and e-mail addresses) change.

As for the real-estate community, the growing popularity of social networking is one bright spot during some really dark days. Says Wortmann: "I'm trying everything in a market like this, because something is going to work. And so far Facebook has been unbelievable."

Daniel McGinn is a national correspondent at NEWSWEEK and the author of HOUSE LUST: America’s Obsession with Our Homes .

© 2009