mobile real estate: Congratulations to Jeannie Bailey for Winning the Smarter Agent Branded App ERA IBC Giveaway - 03/20/12 04:22 AM
At ERA IBC, we gave away a branded app at an agent education session. On Friday, I had a chance to interview Jeannie Bailey, our winner. Jeannie is an agent with ERA Home Network Real Estate in Westerville, Ohio.

Phil:  Jeannie, how have you enjoyed the ERA IBC conference in New Orleans so far?
Jeannie: I love it. It’s the second one I’ve been to and I just like to meet people from all over the country and even around the world.
Phil: What was your favorite education session so far at the IBC conference?
Jeannie:  That would be yours … (1 comments)

mobile real estate: Ready to Take your Mobile Real Estate Business to the Next Level? - 03/16/12 01:38 AM
It’s no secret that real estate professionals have always been a mobile group. Moving from the office to property showings to mortgage offices and meetings with clients, agents and brokers alike have always been on the go. So, with the plethora of mobile tools made available to real estate pros, it’s only natural that productivity and timeliness of transactions would follow suit, right?
Well, that’s the theory and while it is a sound one, the hurdle that seems to be slowing adoption of mobile real estate tools seems to be the ability to educate real estate professionals about the tools that … (2 comments)

mobile real estate: Smarter Agent Real Estate Partner Highlight – Scott Nelson, Wolfson Cutler Real Estate - 03/08/12 12:31 AM
As part of our regular customer outreach, we often chat with our mobile real estate partners to see how the Smarter Agent real estate application is working for them and their business.
Recently, we chatted with Scott Nelson of the Medfordhouse.com Real Estate Radio Show and Wolfson Cutler Real Estate in Medford, MA about how our mobile real estate application has driven advancements in his real estate business.
SA –           What technology advances have you seen make a difference for RE in your tenure?
SN –                Since my beginning in real estate (nine years ago), technology has made huge … (0 comments)

mobile real estate: Smarter Agent Mobile Marketing Tip for Real Estate - 02/15/12 05:17 AM
If you’re a real estate agent or broker, chances are you have a dedicated region that you focus on for your real estate transactions. When you implement a mobile real estate application to build your business and your brand, there is a definitive need to be sure that you are reaching your target market effectively, and that means enhancing your mobile presence locally to drive business in your selected geo-target range.
One of things that Smarter Agent prides itself on is giving real estate agents and brokers a real estate tool that allows them to do just that; drive local awareness … (0 comments)

mobile real estate: Real Estate Re-Enters the Super Bowl Ad Mix, led By CENTURY 21 - 02/01/12 02:38 AM
Coincidentally, it’s been 21 years since any real estate brand has been part of the coveted Super Bowl Ad mix. Why is that a coincidence? Because powerhouse real estate brand and Smarter Agent White Label mobile real estate application partner, CENTURY 21, have thrown their hat in the ring to join in the most-watched day of television and a long-history of outrageous if not memorable commercials.
In a recent article on Forbes.com, Forbe’s Jennifer Sooney interviewed Bev Thorne, CENTURY 21 CMO, about the company’s dramatic reentrance to the television advertising game. In response to questions about the real estate company’s decision … (0 comments)

mobile real estate: Inman Real Estate Connect 2012– Understanding Mobile Real Estate - 01/23/12 02:42 AM
Last week, Smarter Agent attended the Inman Real Estate Connect Conference in NYC. This was my second conference as a member of the team at Smarter Agent. My first was the NAR conference in Aneheim, California back in November.
From our booth, we met with hundreds of brokers and agents alike, discussing the benefits of mobile real estate applications and fielding their questions on the subject. I’d like to share a difference that I’ve noticed between the conference in November and Inman Connect. At NAR, when presenting our product, many of the curious real estate agents and brokers we spoke with … (0 comments)

mobile real estate: Listing Aggregators like Zillow, Trulia and Realtor.com can Erode the Value of your Business. - 01/05/12 02:57 AM
As we reflect on the end of the 2011, the big news in real estate was Brookfield’s acquisition of the Prudential real estate franchise  and relocation division stands out to me.    
Brookfield paid $110-$135 million according to news reports. 
Brookfield now franchises EVERY Prudential brokerage office, including about 50,000 agents that work for those brokers. Many of Prudential’s brokers are in fact leaders in their respective markets.
Zillow however, on the day the acquisition was announced had a market cap on the New York Stock Exchange exceeding $600 million.
To me, this re-affirms that over time, aggregators devalue the business … (8 comments)

mobile real estate: Smarter Real Estate Agents: “Who’s Coming to Real Estate Connect?” - 01/03/12 03:04 AM
Just received an email reminding us of the upcoming event in New York City next week and we were curious who was planning on attending and what their goals were for the New Year and their real estate business.
According to the Inman reminder email, so far, the attendees list includes:
92+ CEOs 34+ presidents 38+ senior vice presidents 3 chief economists 86+ vice presidents 28+ chief technology officers 19+ founders They go on to say, “Think about it this way: Eight out of 10 of the top brokerages and franchises send their senior executives to Connect to learn, network and … (0 comments)

mobile real estate: Mobile will get your Brand to the “Forefront of Millions of Potential Customers’ Minds” - 12/15/11 05:32 AM
In an article for Research 2 Guidance: The Mobile Research Specialists, Ralf-Gordon Jahns discusses why his company thinks mobile applications will become as important for companies as their websites. The mobile app marketplaces are constantly changing and developing. This constant positive growth has led Ralf to his list of six reasons to support the companies’ claims of application importance.

For reasons 1-3, both the ubiquity of Smartphone and the ubiquity of app stores will contribute greatly to the success of mobile apps.  Smartphone will increasingly grow in popularity, causing the use of standard cell phones to decrease. This growth in … (2 comments)

mobile real estate: Join the Next Smarter Agent FREE Webinar -Own your Own Mobile Real Estate Leads! - 12/14/11 02:12 AM
Mobile Knowledge is Power!  Calling all real estate professionals, sign up for Smarter Agent’s free webinar and learn how our mobile solutions can increase your brand awareness and build your business.
Research shows that within the next three years more than 50% of consumers will access information from their mobile phone. What does this mean for the real estate industry? It means that many homebuyers will be searching for real estate information on their phone, not their computer.
Learn how you can offer clients and prospects a mobile solution that’s branded to you, shows all MLS/IDX listings in your market and … (0 comments)

mobile real estate: Smarter Agent Announces New MLS to their Mobile Real Estate Application - 12/13/11 02:20 AM
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Contact Person: Tracie Close, Online Marketing ManagerCompany Name: Smarter Agent, LLCTelephone Number: 856-614-5468Fax Number: 972-215-0236Email Address: tclose@smarteragent.com
Web site address: http://www.smarteragent.com
Smarter Agent Announces New MLS to their Mobile Real Estate Application
Camden, NJ. December 13, 2011 — Smarter Agent, the leading mobile real estate application in the US announced today the addition of 14 Real Estate Multiple Listing Services, MLSs, to their real estate mobile application listings taking their total MLS participation number to 353 listing sites.
Smarter Agent’s listing also now surpass more than 4 million homes and properties around the country accessible through its free … (2 comments)

mobile real estate: Trulia Needs to Make Greater Strides in their Real Estate Data Accuracy to Catch Up… - 12/12/11 12:28 AM
In their recent year recap, Trulia Founder and CEO, Pete Flint made a point of noting that Trulia has made “great strides” with the quality assurance program which manages the accuracy of their MLS listings. He goes on to note that the QA system patrols their more than 400,000 listings for more accuracy for their client agents and buyers managing their property search.
As any mobile real estate platform provider will acknowledge, mobile real estate listing data accuracy is crucial to the viability of any mobile app. While Trulia may continue to “make strides” towards improved data accuracy, Smarter Agent avoids … (3 comments)

mobile real estate: A Mousetrap for Agents and Brokers - 12/08/11 04:29 AM
I was talking with an agent today about mobile at the Triple Play Expo. He made the point that Zillow has built a better “mousetrap.” So, why not push his clients to them and have those same clients call him back.
The issue is there is no better mousetrap than brand loyalty. That brand is you!  So going to a third party aggregator might work but there is no assurance they will come back to you.
He did not realize with his own app through Smarter agent his clients will have more accurate real estate listings than say, a Zillow. He … (0 comments)

mobile real estate: QR Codes Offer an Opportunity for Realtors to Own their Own Technology - 12/08/11 04:28 AM
Imagine a tool that gives you access to complete MLS real estate data by just scanning a bar code. QR codes, partnered with Smarter Agent’s scalable platform, act as an integrated method to put real estate information in the palm of anyone’s  hands on nearly any mobile device imaginable. A few months ago, the company recently bought Toor.me (www.toorme.com), a single property website tool that is accessible through QR codes. Since then, Smarter Agent has implemented QR codes as a means to download mobile apps.
While opportunities exist for putting QR codes on sign riders and websites, the general consumer and … (0 comments)

mobile real estate: Should You Build Another Real Estate Brand or your Own? - 12/08/11 04:27 AM
According Trulia CEO Pete Flint, 20% to 30% of their traffic is now on a mobile device.  That is a nice stat and does continue to show the ever growing importance of mobile in the real estate industry.  Here at Smarter Agent, we agree that mobile is a great tool for transaction-ready consumers.  We know that a very high percentage of clients of our Smarter Agent app, as well asthe  thousands of mobile apps we power, see a very high percentage of users ‘transact’ on the phone whether they call or email an agent directly. Having been a web marketer for … (0 comments)

mobile real estate: Stop Showing Old Real Estate Data! It’s Time we put our Collective Foot Down and Demand Data Quality. - 12/06/11 04:04 AM
Recently I put my house on the market. Being a member of the Smarter Agent team, I was excited to see my listing show up in the Smarter Agent mobile app.  My house went on the market at 2:19 PM on a Friday and was live in the Smarter Agent mobile app by the time I woke up on Saturday morning (to be precise, it was actually live in the app at 1am on Saturday morning).  I was thrilled, I quickly emailed all of my friends and family my new listing right from within the app and told them to spread … (0 comments)

mobile real estate: Your Customers are Mobile. Why Aren’t You? - 12/01/11 05:16 AM
In a recent interview with Mike Yonker, Vice President of the Digital Agency Rockfish, said it is “essential that brands have a mobile strategy.“
What does that mean to your business? 1.8 billion New phones/tablets are estimated to be shipped this year. Now more than ever people are spending more time using phones and tablets.
As Mike explains, “You have to fish where the fish are.”
It is important that REALTORS®, both agents and brokers get involved in the mobile movement to ensure that they are constantly available to their clients. Not only will your mobile strategy improve business to client … (3 comments)

mobile real estate: Cascading Mobile Solutions – Tablet Ready! - 11/30/11 06:05 AM
Searching for your new home anytime, anywhere to be has never been easier. Now that tablet computers are in the mix, Smarter Agent  and its cascading mobile platform has capitalized on the emergence of not only every mobile phone, but also on tablet devices. Real estate is an information rich industry and people need this information whenever they can get it to make the best possible purchase decisions. Smarter Agent’s solutions provide indispensible tools for homebuyers which empower them to learn this information conveniently on their device of choice.
Tablets have emerged quickly as the mobile device of choice for many … (1 comments)

mobile real estate: Proof is in the Pudding. Smarter Agent MLS Mobile App Participants Make their Mark in the App World and Increase Business. - 11/29/11 06:50 AM
After examining some of the MLSs that are participating in the free MLS Branded mobile app program, it is apparent that the free mobile app has made an impressive impact on their business.  On average, a Smarter Agent MLS mobile app is driving approximately 7,000 searches per month which in turn is leading to about 8,500 property views within the app itself.  These numbers are going to continue to grow dramatically as apps become the new internet. 
According to a new study from the Pew Internet Project, “Of those who have downloaded apps, nearly 2 in 3 said they use their … (0 comments)

mobile real estate: It’s time for a Real Estate Revolution – Own your Own Leads!!! - 11/21/11 03:54 AM
I want to start by commending Edina Realty for pulling their listings from Trulia, Zillow and Realtor.com.  It is a smart and brave move for companies like them who want to control their brand and own their own leads, without having to pay a 3rd party for the privilege.  I think every real estate agent, broker and brand should also walk away.
Having been in travel, I know firsthand how aggregators can take suppliers content (airlines, hotels and car companies in travel) and in this case real estate listings, and amass large numbers of eyeballs and then charge the suppliers back … (1 comments)

 


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