2007 Mobile Real Estate Roundup

By: Chris Brubaker

The world of real estate is fast paced and always on the move. That’s why today we’ve highlighted some of our best blogs that reflect the mobile aspect of real estate.

Best Phones of ‘07

Most agents would consider their mobile phone an extension of their body, one of the most important tools they have. In this blog post, we reviewed Consumer Reports list of top cell phones and carriers, helping real estate pros and consumer alike sort through the mess that is the wireless world.

The iPhone

In the mobile world, it’s impossible to think about 2007 and not remember the hype that was the iPhone (before and after launch). While some may not think it’s the best phone all around, they do recognize how it has and will change the industry. For real estate professionals we wrote a blog (A Tool for Realtors) about how you can use the iPhones latest technology to your advantage.

Many companies are seeing the potential of the iPhone and creating websites specifically designed to fit the phones screen size and unique interface. HouseFront is no different, being as mobile centric as we are we created the first real estate search web application for the iPhone. You can read about it in these two blog posts HouseFront and Apple, sitting in a tree…, HouseFront and the iPhone, officially a couple. To view our iPhone web application point your iPhone’s Safari browser to http://iPhone.HouseFront.com.

Text Messaging

The star of the mobile world right now is text messaging, being adopted by many at an amazing pace. We’ve been keeping everyone up to date all year about text messaging and its many benefits and uses. In December of 2007, text messaging had officially been around for 15 years; in Text Messaging Turns 15 we wrote about the history of texting and how it’s grown to become what it is today.

Further cementing it’s place in history, 2007 was the year mobile phones cost more annually than landlines (Landlines Fall to Cell Phones). As texting expands to more than just tweens and college students, learning to type a conversation in just 160 characters can be a problem. That’s why we put together the blog Talking Text explaining some of the more commonly used terms when texting to clients, colleagues, or friends.

Finally, text messaging isn’t just for simple communication, it can be used in business and advertising. In Mktg w/ txt Msg (Marketing with Text Messaging), we wrote about how different industries can be successful in marketing to consumers through text messaging. In our blog, It’s a Mobile Mobile Mobile Mobile World, we wrote about how HouseAds (HouseFront’s newly launched advertising system) is leading the way in mobile advertising for real estate professionals, being the first company to offer real estate advertising via text messaging.

2007 was a year of incredible growth in the mobile sector, and 2008 is expected to be no different as more real estate professionals realize the advantages of reaching consumers while on the go.