RISMEDIA, August 1, 2011—There’s no question that as a society we are more mobile than we have ever been. With over 300 million mobile users in this country, a 96% penetration rate, it’s safe to say this isn’t going to slow down anytime soon.
The real estate industry in Los Angeles, Calif., has obviously taken note and in an effort to move inventory and make information more readily available to today’s mobile consumers, has adopted many new ways to get property info into the hands (literally) of perspective buyers; Property Search 3.0.
On July 15 The MLS/CLAW released to all its members innovative new technology which allows them to do just that—put property information right into a prospective buyers hands on their cell phone.
By partnering with Mobile Real Estate ID, The MLS/CLAW is giving every member access to today’s most popular mobile components so they can mobilize their listings for potential buyers. This comes in a couple different forms.
First is text messaging; each listing entered into the MLS can now have a text code assigned to it. This text code can be used in all forms of advertising, especially on the “For Sale” sign. When a prospective buyer is in front of the house they can simply text the code to the phone number 85377 and get instant information about the property, a link to all the photos and the agents contact information. They can also request a phone call from the agent.
Second, each property will now also be available via QR Code. QR Codes are two dimensional bar codes, which when scanned will take you to a piece of content, in this case property information. As a prospective buyer, you can either scan the QR Code on the yard sign and using the GPS on your device get info the property you’re in front of or can from a magazine ad and go right to the listing page.
Third, every property in the MLS now has a Mobile Website created for it. This way, as a buyer—whether you text for info or scan a QR Code—you can pull up a website for that listing that is formatted specially for viewing on your mobile device so all content and pictures appear correctly and are easily navigated. All property pages are linked to the agent’s other listings and have features such as the ability to map the listing and e-mail the listing to a spouse or friend. Some agent’s have even enhanced their mobile property sites to include a search of all properties for sale in the market and allow you to GPS to search for listings near you.
Now when you’re out looking for properties, rest assured you need nothing more than your cell phone. Whether you text or scan, you can get all the info you need right in the palm of your hand using Property Search 3.0 with all members of The MLS/CLAW.
