Let me just throw this out upfront — do you use your website's property search to find properties for your clients?  I'd bet that you probably don’t, and you prefer the MLS search.  Given that preference, why put so much time and effort into having the best possible property search on our sites?  The prevailing wisdom is that prospective clients find agents through websites; therefore, websites with the best search will get the most clients (not simply just anonymous visitors).

But I don’t know if I buy that argument.  I wouldn't necessarily pick a REALTOR^® solely because they have the best property search – I want to work with someone that is good at what they do, and I know I will be able to work with personality wise. 

In fact, as a consumer, I'd likely be using vertical search engines that are designed specifically for me, the consumer.  These sites, such as Google Housing, REALTOR.com, Zillow and Trulia all have the gobs of cash needed to compete for that slice of the pie.  And their main means of doing that is through offering the most technologically advanced property search engine.  So why are more than a million websites out there trying to compete in property search?

As a REALTOR^®, would you be disappointed if your client signed an exclusive buyer’s agreement with you, but actually used a competing REALTOR^®’s website for search, or even just used Trulia?  This must happen daily; I’ve seen it happen myself.  Back in the medieval days of online property search, I ran one such brokerage website.  And I remember one user who would email me whenever the data feed seemed to not be updating.  I asked her if she would like to speak with our call center about working with an agent, but she politely said, “No, thanks, I already have one.  I just liked your search better.”  Even though she liked our site, she didn’t give us her business. And that was a different era, before property data was available pretty much everywhere.

Another way to think about it is to compare it to online shopping.  When you are researching an item, you may go to a dozen retail websites and read reviews, check out product comparisons and whatever other data you need to make your decision.  But the sites with all that great information may not have the best price, and, once you’ve decided what you’re going to buy, you’re probably going to try one of the bigger players, who may not have all that information, but who have the best price.  And that, not the information-heavy competition, is where you’ll spend your money.  I’ve done it—I’ve tried on a lot of shoes in stores, for example, only to ultimately buy through Zappos.

This is not to say that a REALTOR^® website shouldn't have property data.  Maybe it simply doesn’t have to have the best property search.  Even link to Trulia or Google – or better yet, the infamous MLS Consumer Portal.  That, coupled with a 'New to the Market' or 'Hot Properties' feed, might give you the best of both worlds.  Granted, what I’m saying could be heresy.  But I think your main selling point to a prospective client is you and what you can bring to the table.  If you show that, it doesn’t matter where on the web they are searching, they know you are going to get the job done when it comes down to it.  So how do you show value as a REALTOR® while introducing them to a vertical property search site? 

This is where social media and social networking are so important – differentiating you and your services. There are basically two ways that a client can find your website – assuming the average REALTOR^® is not on the first page of Search Engines.  Some may find you through a referral or because of your marketing material.  Others may do an online property search, and a find a link that brings them back to the listing agent's website—and you’re the listing agent.  In the first case, the clients are more interested in learning about you, and property search is probably ancillary.  For the second case, where you gain a client from another online source, you will only gain the client if you can top that source.  That means you’re competing against Google, Trulia, Zillow and REALTOR.com.  That's a very high bar.  And that is why I think your charge with your website is should be more about you than a bunch of listings that are everywhere anyway.

This brings me back to my original hypothesis: how important is it for prospective clients to search for property on your website?  In both of the cases above, the better move might be to showcase for this prospective client how great of a REALTOR^® you are, how familiar you are with the community, how you provide more than just finding a property that meet some criteria.  In other words, it might be a better idea to showcase that you have what it takes to make their search for property better, easier, and less stressful.

Maybe it's time to reconsider the focus on property data.  Hasn’t it always been about selling yourself first?  And to me, that’s what you should emphasize in your digital marketing.  And ultimately, the ROI for competing against the major search portals is just not worth it.

Chris McKeever
cmckeever@realtors.org

Not long ago agents and brokers lugged around MLS catalogs. Back then, finding a listing that fit a consumer's needs took a while.  The search was not exactly instantaneous. Newspaper ads were at the top of the advertising mix, and mobile technology wasn't on most people's minds.

The advent of the Internet created new opportunities & new challenges.  A few expressed concern that this medium would eliminate the role of agents and brokers in the home purchasing and selling process. It soon became obvious to everyone that consumers would continue to find value in real estate professionals because these agents & brokers knew the business and could help the consumer navigate the tricky real estate process. And just as listing aggregators began to find a home on the Internet, mobile tech tools popped up.  These tools gained momentum among real estate practitioners, and tools like e-mail, digital cameras, virtual tours, laptops, GPS and PDAs proved to be popular among agents and brokers who used them as a way to keep up with the way consumers used technology to shop for and sell homes.

Now that we are a decade into the 21st century, listing placement and mobile tech tools are coming together. Today, smartphones have taken a leap and put home listings in the palms of our hands.  At the drop of a hat, the consumers sitting in your car may ask to explore other 'homes for sale' in a given neighborhood.  And the information you need is accessible instantly.  That kind of access is hard to beat.  But, what if you—as a real estate professional—were armed with a device slightly less bulky than a laptop but larger than a smartphone to help with a listing search on the go....would you use that tool with clients? Or in sales presentations?  This question comes to mind in response to Kindle’s recent announcement about a limited release of its SDK .  It sounds like they are laying the groundwork for an app store.  And then, of course, there's the iPad.  (See the iPad article in this newsletter.)  These devices may lend themselves to clever ways of presenting listings in the future.

"Bah, humbug! Another device to carry?" Many may say that, but you might want to think of it this way: in an era where differentiation is key, what might that client think when they find out that their house can be viewed via an app on one of these e-readers?  Or that they can search for a house that way?  Picture this:  someone sitting quietly on a train, on their way home, can use an e-reader to navigate home listings.  They come upon the property that exactly fits their criteria, and then finds you.  This is not that farfetched.  With the development of new technology, the question becomes, "What's next for real estate listings?"

Of course, no tech tool could rival a real estate professional’s knowledge, integrity, & network.  But technology tools could bring them and their listings closer to the consumer.

Articles for your consideration:

 Home Buyer & Seller Profile (2K8)

 Technology Topic Field Guides

 REALTOR.com iPhone App

 Your Future Clients

Ana Schmitz
aschmitz@realtors.org

With the recent announcement and upcoming release of the Apple iPad, there has been much discussion about how this new tech toy can be used.  The real question for REALTORs®, of course, is “Would the iPad be of any use to me in my business?”  And while it’s still a little early to see all the potential benefits, I think that the iPad or a similar device can be of great use to a REALTOR®; perhaps even better than a laptop when you’re on the road.

One of the first reactions that people had with regard to the iPad was something along the lines of “Oh, it’s just a giant iPhone.”  I admit that I had the same reaction at first.  Then I realized, “Wait, that’s awesome!”  The idea of a device that is in between a smartphone and a full-fledged laptop actually makes sense for a REALTOR®. 

To see what I mean, let’s take a look a couple of scenarios where a device like the iPad could serve you better than a smartphone, laptop or netbook. 

First, let’s say that you are showing a property, and in the course of the showing, the potential buyer asks for some information that you don’t have in hardcopy, but that’s in your email or online.  With a laptop, you could find the information and show it to the client, but it can be a little time consuming: you have to open up the laptop, find the information and then show it to the client.  And unless you have a flat surface available, handling a laptop is awkward.  With a smartphone, it’s much easier to handle, but not so good for viewing: you and the client would have to hunch over a tiny screen.  But with an iPad, you have an easy-to-handle machine with a much larger screen.  No hunching required!. 

This ease of use could also apply to any other information you only have in soft copy.  With an iPad, you could cut down on the amount of paperwork you would need to carry around with you while out showing properties.  Simply preload your device with any information that you might think you’ll need for the showing.  You can always go online if you need to.  Even better, you can easily email this information for the buyer to look at later, if needed. 

Here’s another situation where an iPad might come in handy.  Perhaps, while out showing properties, you find that your client has new criteria for the property they want.  Your current list for them doesn’t meet those criteria, so you need to do a quick search that takes this new information into account.  Sure, any smartphone can take you to your MLS’s web search page, but again, it’s difficult for more than one person at a time to look at the device.  A laptop or netbook would work well in this role, but only if  you have a good place to put it.  But the iPad could handle the search just as well as a laptop, without the need for a flat surface. And should a tabletop be available, you can attach a physical keyboard that makes typing on an iPad as easy as it is on a laptop.

In addition, the iPad, as a new device, is sure to inspire new types of applications, some of which will probably come in handy for REALTORs®.  I wouldn’t be surprised if someone developed an application that would allow a buyer to make an offer on a property electronically.  Also, applications that allow one to sign documents electronically would greatly reduce the amount of paper work you need to carry about.  Plus, the iPad is able to run the thousands of apps that have already been developed for the iPhone and iPod Touch.  If you have one of those, and there’s an app on it that you love, you could put it on the iPad as well.

The biggest downside to the Apple iPad is its price, and the fact that it is tied to AT&T for 3G data.  However, its release will undoubtedly inspire competitors to create similar devices, which will help make this kind of tool more affordable and give you a better choice of mobile carriers.

So the Apple iPad is something that could, once it has been released, prove very useful to a REALTOR®.  It could make showing properties easier, while reducing the amount of paperwork you have to carry with you.  It gives you the option of easy-to-handle web access that you can share with other people.  And new applications and devices are sure to bring even more functionality to an already useful type of tool.

Andrew Tillman
atillman@realtors.org

There are literally thousands of products for businesspeople today, and finding the right products for your needs can be exceedingly difficult.  The process of finding exactly the right tools and resources can be costly and time consuming.  We at the Center for REALTOR® Technology realize that many REALTORS® want to become more tech savvy, but they don’t know where to start.

With that in mind, I’ll be discussing some of the most popular tools in detail over the next few months.  Our blog and newsletters will be filled with advice and useful ideas to help you find the best mobile gadgets, software, and office hardware.  To be clear, none of these guides will endorse any specific products.  Rather, we hope to give you information about the tools that are available so that you can make a decision about whether or not you should consider a particular tech tool.

Part I: GPS

Whether you’re an agent, broker, or an association executive, you may want to consider a GPS unit for your car.  GPS units are common in today’s market.  Over the past five years the number of different GPS units available has been growing at an exponential rate.  With recent advancements in mapping and location, finding where you are and where you want to go quickly and easily has never been simpler.  The popularity of GPS units has been so great that most smartphone manufacturers now include GPS radios in their phones. 

While most new smartphones have the ability to accurately track and map your location and destination, many phones still do not offer the versatility of a standalone GPS unit.  In addition to the extra features available, personal GPS devices often come with screens that are much larger than a smartphone’s screen.  This is not to say that smartphones with factory GPS applications or with apps that can be purchased are not valuable.  Rather, I would suggest that GPS software on smartphones simply is not quite the equal of a standalone unit.

There are numerous GPS manufacturers and each one is vying for your business.  Each manufacturer attempts to differentiate itself by offering different features.  Many of these features can sway you to purchase one GPS or another.  However, I would offer the following advice when considering a new GPS device:

1.       How well does the routing work?  This might seem like an easy question to answer for any GPS device, but my experience with different hardware would suggest otherwise.  The most important feature of any GPS device is this: will it get you where you need to go?

2.       Have you used the brand before?  If not, do you know anyone who has?  With the number of manufacturers in the GPS market, it has never been more important to know what you’re getting before you buy it.  Your experience with a certain device will vary greatly between different brands.  When you’re doing your research, talk to other people who have used the unit, or at the very least, the brand you’re considering.

3.       Is the unit you want being offered at a super-mega-hyper discount?  If the unit you’re considering is on sale for an incredibly low price, find out why.  Many units that go on sale are perfectly well built and provide great features.  However, buying the cheapest option simply because it’s the cheapest option is never good.  Weigh the price against the features before making your purchase.

4.       What are you going to use it for?  How often?  If you’re a REALTOR® who takes your clients from showing to showing on a daily basis, your needs will likely be higher than a REALTOR® who rarely does any driving. 

5.       What features do you really need?  Don’t buy the unit with all the bells and whistles; you’ll probably never use half of the features it has.  The software is so advanced in many devices that with the higher-end units, you really need to be a road warrior to justify the cost of those features. 

Everyone has different needs when it comes to technology, so do your best to consider as many options as you can.  And above all else, try before you buy.  If you never play with the device before you buy it, you’re never going to know if it’s right for you.  Most big box stores such as Best Buy, Target, and Wal-Mart have display units available to examine and use.  Make sure you’re comfortable with the device in the store or you’ll never be comfortable once it’s talking to you in your car.

Greg Stinton
gstinton@realtors.org