For the last year I’ve been using an iPad to avoid wasting reams of paper printing out home listings for Austin buyer clients. I recently reviewed the applications that consumers use to find homes as part of my research into how best to market homes for seller clients. By far my favorite was the Realtor.com iPad app.
It’s real utility became apparent when I had a friend in from out of the country. He wasn’t really looking for a home in Austin yet as he isn’t planning on relocating for 7 months. He was at the very early stages of research – he was looking for a neighborhood.
I’d go and meet up with him from time to time during his 4 day whirlwind tour, answering questions about neighborhoods he liked the feel of, and suggesting other areas. And this is where the Realtor.com app really shines: it has a map you can draw on with your finger, as shown below.
So it’s simple to set up a geographic area and show what’s available and tap down to photos and details. This is invaluable during the “romancing the area” phase that is often part of a relocation. A buyer doesn’t need to know zip codes, areas or subdivisions, and they can quickly get a feel for prices and sizes. Of course, you could ask a Realtor to tell you what areas you should focus on too – some people just like to get a feel for a place, and driving around with the data at your fingertips is better than having to run out of the car to grab fliers from a possibly empty box.
Garreth Wilcock is a nerd and likes using technology to improve real estate transactions in Austin TX.