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Matthew Genovese

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iPhone/Blackberry Users...Easy Property Search

01-09-09
Matthew Genovese

As someone in the market to purchase a home, or an investor, ever drive by a house with a sign out front and wish you could get more information about it without having to call the number on the sign?

How about this one: You are sitting is Starbucks drinking coffee waiting for a friend or a business appointment and feel like your time could be better spent if you were still in front of your computer looking for a home.

Well, Coldwell Banker (and I do work for a Coldwell Banker franchisee for full disclosure) has announced that they have optimized their real estate search function of their web site for iPhone users and Blackberry users alike!

coldwellbanker.com on your iPhonecoldwellbanker.com on your Blackberry

So, now when you are killing time at the local coffee shop...or you pass that perfect home, all you have to do now is grab your iPhone or your Blackberry and start searching on a screen optimized for your device...it couldn't be easier.

Here is a link to the Coldwell Banker Site for more information: http://coldwellbanker.com/servlet/News?action=viewNewsItem&contentId=14484181

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Flight To Quality

01-08-09
Matthew Genovese

Yet again Inman News has posted a really interesting article. It is a Q&A with a Seattle-based Agent, Kirsten Mohan, who has some great insights into where the market is going and how it will get there.


I particularly like this part of her answer to "how do you think the real estate market will be different when we recover from the current downturn?"

"... we'll see a return to quality after years of mediocrity. This will happen primarily because a more educated consumer base will demand better service from...real estate agents in particular...for many years, a part of the real estate agent's perceived value was thepossession and dissemination of raw data to the consumer. That same consumer now has the opportunity to find an abundance of information online before ever contacting an agent..."


This is a very, very astute observation. Kirsten is absolutely correct that the agent's role is no longer just as a diseminator of information. That information that was once closely guarded is now, thank to the internet, very free and available.

Most agents will take that statement as a threat, but I view it as an opportunity, and I think that Kirsten does too. It is an opportunity because it creates a marketplace where only agents that bring real value to their relationships with clients will succeed. They no longer can rely on the intrinsic value of their proprietary information.

Now, agents will present value by being the expert in negotiating for their clients, being able to help them navigate through the complex buying/selling process, and also will create value by leveraging their networks. Not only networks of other professionals that clients will need to utilize, but also networks of contacts that present the potential buyer (or seller) that their client is looking for.

That will be the value, going forward, that each person engaging a real estate agent should be looking for in thier business partners.

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