Realtor.com has released their iPhone App to help buyers search for homes on-the-go. Among the expected features, like the ability to pull all property details and prices from 4 million+ homes for a sale, a few app features and tips for how to deal with the smartphone home shopper are as follows:

• Up to 25 photos can be shown per listing. This means you want to be sure to include all available photos for the properties you’re selling on your listings.
• Listings are updated every 15 minutes, so you’ll want to keep your listing information as current as possible.
• Home shoppers can click to call the agent who listed the property as they search. [photo of this feature] Because those shopping on their mobile phone are looking for homes instantly, this feature makes you as the listing agent just a click away, so it’s very possible that if shoppers have interest in a property, they may call you first rather than a realtor they know or have worked with before. You’ll want to make sure the number you have listed with your properties is one you’re most likely to answer, so you get this first opportunity to talk about your property. Because these shoppers are looking for immediate information, if you don’t answer, they’re likely to seek out the information somewhere else.
• Also, because they will be calling you about your listing, you may want to make yourself extremely familiar with the homes for sale that are similar to your listings in the same area. This way you can open up a conversation with the shopper about other available properties to show you are valuable as a home search agent. Perhaps this can lead to an appointment.
• Users can map properties available around their current location. So with one search, the user can see homes available within a certain radius. This means they can potentially call you while they are in your listing’s neighborhood—another reason to make yourself available as quickly as possible. Also, if you have the app on your iPhone, while showing homes you can easily search to find other similar homes in the area worth visiting.
• Users can save searches and listings, as well as create and save private ratings and keep notes for listings. If you have an iPhone, this can be especially useful for you to remember homes you’ve visited or information about your own listings.
• Users can send listings directly from the application with you as their agent, or with their friends and family. Again, if you have an iPhone, this feature will make sharing listings with your clients as simple as a click of a button.

As a side note, Realtor.com also offers an interesting app on Facebook. You can add their free “See My Listings” application to your Facebook to give your Facebook friends the opportunity to see homes you have for sale directly from your Facebook page.

Do you have experience using this iPhone app? What other apps are you using to streamline business?

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