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Association News, TechnologyMake mobile apps part of marketing plan
Eric Blumberg
Mobile technology is the next new frontier for real estate, according to Eric Blumberg, president of Smarter Agent, a mobile applications design company.
Blumberg believes now is the time for REALTORS® to embrace mobile technology while it’s still evolving. “Just a little over 10 years ago, real estate agents were so into keeping their MLS book a secret and resisting the Internet that third party portals jumped in, aggregated listings and became the first stop for many consumers.
“Now NAR is reporting that six out of 10 buyers last year were GenX (ages 30-40) and their point of entry for looking at homes is through their phone,” Blumberg said. “You don’t have to understand how the mobile apps work but you do need to understand that probably 50 percent of your clients will start their home search on their phone within the next three years. It’s easier to be ahead of the curve.”
Reaching this mobile generation is only becoming more important, Blumberg said. And while many see the iPhone as the “Mercedes” of the smart phone industry, Blumberg notes that Blackberry still holds the greatest market share at 35 percent. Apple follows with 28 percent of market share and the Android follows with 9 percent.
“Mobile apps are just a piece to your marketing puzzle,” he added. “You need to understand all of the pieces, the web, texting, e-mail and they all need to be mobile friendly. By adopting mobile technology early, you can make sure consumers always have a REALTOR® in their pocket and you can win in this growing market.”
Blumberg is the guest speaker at the upcoming Certified Residential Specialist (CRS) luncheon on Tuesday, Sept. 28 at the Harrisburg Hilton. Reserve your seat for $17. Blumberg is also speaking at the Triple Play REALTORS® Convention in Atlantic City.
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Kim Shindle is the Manager of Media Relations at the Pennsylvania Association of Realtors®. |
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Heather: A strict reading of the IDX rules suggests that it would not be proper to provide a full IDX feed for this sort of service because it is not a broker’s “website” but is another method for distributing those listings. I’m assuming that some MLSs have elected to provide the feed anyway, but I suppose that’s an issue for local discretion.
The proposals you cite were recently released by an NAR workgroup looking at this topic. Based on past experience, I would suggest that you not take any actions based on those proposals, as they are highly likely to be altered at the NAR meetings, if they’re passed at all. If you’re going to act within the structure of the model rules, you should wait until after the upcoming meetings to see what comes out.
KIM,
SOME OF OUR AGENTS HAVE ASKED ABOUT THE SMARTER AGENT APPLICATION AND FOR AN IDX FEED FROM OUR MLS FOR IT. WITH THE CURRENT IDX RULES AND REGULATIONS THROUGH NAR STILL ONLY BEING IN THE WORK GROUP, CAN WE GIVE IDX FEED FOR MOBILE APPS?
Another great way to use your phone and text messaging is through PAR Preferred PARtners Txt2Look. Check out http://par.txt2look.com/
I could not work without my blackberry–and a big part of every transaction is figuring out how each party likes to communicate. Sometimes you get a quick text from the client but have to call the other agent and leave messages at the office and wait for the response!! The disconnect makes the job a lot harder.