Technology is streamlining operations, transforming neighborhoods into global communities, and enabling real estate agents to go mobile. You can now do things that practitioners could only fantasize about only 10 years ago. Mobile technology, blogging, agent and single-property websites, on-line transactions - these were mere figments of the imaginations of early adopters’ in 1989 and that of the technology speakers that were granted platforms in the 90’s.

Technology is the new segway to building your returning customer base, and customers can be realized learning the technology just as easilly as adopting them. Taking classes will motivate you and provide you with information you can utilize while you learn. Some classes afford you direct networking opportunities in person or grant you access to large online communities while others present PR opportunities that can be leveraged in your marketing efforts. Knowledge with a bonus!

Technology can save you time! Streaming your marketing process provides you with more client-facing opportunities and allows you to foster what is of the utmost importance, your client relationships. Technology enables one to more quickly interpret information and facilitate a transaction, all while providing extraordinary service and care; not only fulfilling requests made but excelling and exceeding them and others only imagined. Digital solutions will assist you in maintaining meaningful contact with past clients for years to come.

Building an ongoing referral network need not be an expensive or time consuming process if you’ve learned which technologies to deploy. With some programs, REW™ for one, you can “try before you buy”. This allows you to work with various technologies to determine whether they meet your needs, without spending your hard-earned money on trials and subscriptions you may not really want.

Many RE practitioners feel the relationships take too much time away from transactions. Utilizing technology can provide smoother transactions, from beginning to the end. This ultimately creates a better client experience and affords you the opportunity to grow client relationships into clients for life. With the stakes rising, so does the cost of customer acquisition - technology will lower that cost.

Pursuit of knowledge and becoming certified also lends itself to credibility. Of course, displaying your certifications proudly, and having the know-how to explain them is definitely important, simply demonstrating to your clients that you have the motivation to achieve for yourself will tell them volumes of what you are willing to do for them. As stated in a recent RIS Article, ”How to become a lifetime Learner” (RISMEDIA, 7/19/2007), becoming “certified” in a particular field or subject area makes you an instant expert. The more classes you take, certifications you garner, knowledge you obtain, the more trust you will engender with potential clients and your fellow Realtors. With technology rapidly changing the RE landscape, Confidence is King, whether you are a new or seasoned agent.

Provide more than your clients expect. Although the technology solutions available may be new to you, your clients may have come across it already while shopping on line. If you are one step ahead, and you can show them what's under the hood, you make a niche for yourself. Provide a complete package as a differentiating factor.

Be able to say with confidence, ”I use these client-facing technologies for each and everyone of my clients…and I exceed their expectations everytime."

The National Institute of Webographers has awarded Location Inc. and its web-based neighborhood search engine, NeighborhoodScout™ , corporate sponsorship of the “Neighborhood Search” competency within the REAL ESTATE WEBOGRAPHER™ certification.

View Press Release.

During the Real Estate boom in 2005 through 2006, the search for the perfect Neighborhood was not nearly as important as simply finding a physical home for purchase. Lottery systems and long waiting lists found throughout the country, especially for newly built developments, were common-place. Since then, the market has drastically cooled off. Buyers can be selective about other aspects of their complete home experience, and one of those aspects is the neighborhood.

On April 8th, 2007, the real estate section of the Arizona Republic reports that Arizona has hit a record high of over 50,000 homes on the market. Tips to Buyers on the first-page of the section, told Buyers to be extremely selective when considering the neighborhood and / or community in which they purchase a new home.

Neighborhood Search, as represented by NeighborhoodScout, offers dynamic, all-inclusive neighborhood information in contrast to static (sometimes considered fluffy, or boring) neighborhood and community information. Dynamic searches include "Luxury Communities", "Families with Children", "Retirement Areas", and "First Time Home Buyers". 

Neighborhood Search speaks to today's web-savvy consumer who likes to browse for information on their own. When they've found neighborhoods of interest, lead-generation forms are displayed, providing an exclusive, personalized lead to the agent subscriber. A subscription allows this all inclusive, lead-generation tool to be added to an agent or broker's website. 

REAL ESTATE WEBOGRAPHER™ Certification Activity
Candidates of the REW™ engage NeighborhoodScout within the sandbox of technologies showcased in training. Candidates have the option to work with their own demo NeighborhoodScout agent subscriber account and setup a unique URL that would be used by site-visitors.  Candidates engage this dynamic search engine, practice lead-generation from NeighborhoodScout contact forms and use their candidate webmail to engage exclusive leads sent personally to them.

Neighborhood Search, inclusive of an agent or broker's website keeps website visitors on the site longer, as represented by NeighborhoodScout™.  It assists to spark "conversations" with the curious buyer, who is impressed by the all-inclusive services provided by the agent/broker subscriber.

eAppraiseIT, product company of First American and a leading provider of real estate valuation products and services, today announced that the National Institute of Webographers has awarded eAppraiseIT and its AgentAvm valuation tool corporate sponsorship of the “CMAs & AVMs” competency within the REAL ESTATE WEBOGRAPHER™ certification.

View Press Release.

CMAs and AVMs

The National Institute of Webographers, LLC, due to its own extensive research, has found the CMA-generation process can be time-intensive for today’s real estate professional. This is true especially of the Seller’s CMA, agents looking to “win the listing”, where the report may have a short "shelf-life".

Based on that research, a new service of AgentAVM was created to produce a desired “CMA-looking” report, without the headaches. This product includes the use of Automated Valuation Model (AVM) where print-ready reports are generated quickly, but remain highly customizable by the agent or broker as with AgentAVM.

An Automated Valuation Model (AVM) report is a resource that has been used by the financial and lending industry for many years, allowing real estate professionals to "think" like a lender. An AVM provider utilizes data sources such as county and tax records, MLS repositories, and other proprietary databases to generate reports that at first-glance, look similar to a CMA. The purpose of an AVM is to provide comparable data and an estimated property value through scientific formulas versus human intuition.

AgentAVM has evolved combining the best of CMAs and AVMs for an agent’s personal use. This product combines the corporate & personal branding of a CMA, but the scientific rigor in property valuation and comparable data of an AVM. This new report can be used as a replacement to generate a “seller’s AVM”. For those busy agents who need a fast solution, this new report can act as the Buyer’s CMA.

Already, many agents use data sources like Public Information records of tax and county records to supplement MLS data. AVM technology uses such data sources in report generation. Thus AVM’s used by agents can serve as a supplemental research tool for those who create “custom” CMAs.

We have received many inquiries from potential candidates about the "Virtual Assistant", also called a VA.  A Virtual Assistant can provide technology administration and support, along with an array of other administrative services to a top-producing, real estate agents, brokers and companies.  Acquisition of technology is imperative, the time to use and administer RE technology can at times, a limiting factor.

Team Double-Click^SM is a virtual assistant staffing company, pairing highly qualified virtual assistants to real estate agents, brokers and companies.  The pairing of VA to RE Client is a process of matching the needs of the client, with search against the thousands of VAs that are a part of Team Double-Click. Kendra Todd, winner of Donald Trump's hit reality show "The Apprentice", uses and recommends Team Double-Click.

Dawn Smith, Marketing Manager for Team Double-Click has this insight into the world of VAs.

Industry experts continue to extol the virtues of virtual assistants. Nevertheless, small business owners continue to undertake operations-related minutia that Internet-based professionals can easily handle. Some experts attribute this to technology.