Real Estate Pros Turn to Mobile Apps
Around the country, real estate agents are using mobile apps to provide instantaneous information to consumers, hoping to reach what the National Association of REALTORS® calls the largest group of buyers: the age 25-to-34 demographic.
Most of these apps feature geolocation technology that identifies a consumer’s location in order to show them properties for sale in their vicinity.
“With the market being the way it is and home buyers understanding this is a home they’re buying and not just a stock or an investment, they really are spending time to get to know the neighborhood and finding out A) is this a neighborhood that I’d be happy with now, and B) is this a neighborhood that would grow with me?” says Matt Dollinger, vice president of strategic development, @Properties.
In addition to texting tools, real estate firms are rolling out QR codes, which consumers scan using a smartphone to access property and neighborhood information. Others are launching mobile versions of their Web sites.
Despite the increased use of technology to sell homes, though, real estate professionals say the human touch is necessary to get buyers through the front door.
Source: “Brokers Launch Mobile Apps to Keep Pace With Buyers,” Chicago Tribune, Mary Ellen Podmolik (04/29/11)