7 Real Estate Smartphone Apps

According to the National Association of Realtors’ 2009 Technology Report, 55% of respondents indicated they wanted more productivity and enhancement tools for their mobile phone. Of these respondents the top three mobile devices used are: 32% BlackBerry, 14% Palm Treo & 10% iPhone.  Based upon these stats, here are 7 awesome Smartphone Real Estate Apps.

1. I’m all about finding free resources so Zillow’s iPhone & iPod Touch App is at the top of this list. Zillow launched in 2006 and is growing by leaps and bounds. This App is for buyers, sellers and investors because they can “walk or drive through a neighborhood and see Zestimate® home values, homes for sale, recently sold homes, Make Me Move® homes and more. GPS technology pinpoints your location and then displays real-time real estate information and data as you move. You can also search any neighborhood and save those searches.”

2. Another management tool, eFastInfo, was released in late August for residential, rental and commercial real estate agents and brokers. The product builds targeted leads and marketing data. The new technology can be used on any Smartphone and is free for the property buyer to use. Potential buyers or tenants can receive property data and photos for free on their phone such as price, lease rates, square footage, and more. This product was highlighted in the Dallas Business Journal and said the service “lets listing agents of residential properties and commercial real estate brokers use the data to target prospective properties that match the shoppers’ profile, as well as sending e-mail updates to shoppers if the sales price or lease rate of the property they have expressed interest in is reduced or other changes occur.” The cost is $29.99/month for up to 40 property codes.

3. The Time App by Time Magazine is free for both the Blackberry and iPhone. This allows you to easily sort through news, quotes, best and worst lists, latest headlines, and share/save articles, photos and images with others via email and Twitter.

4. ESIGNControl by DocuSign is very new and allows real estate agents the ability to track, view, revise and electronically sign documents. ”Using the app, the users can see the status of the documents then sent, who has signed, who has not, and even allows them to correct and resend if there is a problem.” You can also download and view the documents that you sent right on your iPhone. It can be used by iPhone yet there are plans to expand to Blackberry and other Smartphones.  The cost is $6.99/month but you must be a DocuSign customer and the individual professional rate is $16/month.

5. Another real estate management App for iPhones and iPod Touch is called Property Tracker. This is for real estate investors and for agents and brokers that work with investors. The company says, “after entering some information about the property, you can view performance projections that help you do a true apples-to-apples comparison between properties. You can also email a PDF of the projections to your client or investment partner.” The cost is $24.95/month.

6. Homes for  Sale App by Smarter Agent is unique as it allows you to brand what is seen by the homebuyer. The buyer downloads the application from your website and “all calls to see the property route directly to YOU regardless of who listed the property.” This works on all smartphones and “allows homebuyers to view all available MLS listing information on homes for sale around them anytime, anywhere, from the convenience of their cell phone. They can locate properties by GPS, address, zip code, or city; see details including price, square footage, beds/baths, and taxes; map properties closest to them; even see pictures!” The cost is $39.95/month for real estate agents and the price varies for brokers depending on how many agents are in their office.

7. The free, new Redfin Real Estate App allows for all of the broker-listed homes listed in the MLS to be viewed and shows every picture, typically fifteen. Plus it shows FSBO and foreclosure homes that are not yet available in MLS. This is useful to the real estate agent, broker and investor. It is user-friendly with many search criteria options, however, it’s currently only works where Redin’s website is supported. The company plans to cover the entire US within the next two years. This is available for iPhone and iPod users.

Jennifer Stalford is the co-founder of the website Your Realty Portal that is designed for Real Estate Professionals in the United States and Canada. We believe in self-empowerment through education and collaboration. The website contains a large Free Toolkit, vendors in the Real Estate Marketplace, resumes and career openings in the Career section, has a forum for professionals to interact, Event Calendars and more.

To view all the links that are associated with the items referenced throughout the article, please visit YRP’s Real Estate Blog at http://www.yourrealtyportal.com/blog/

Jennifer’s background includes accounting, marketing, nonprofit administration, real estate investments and grant writing. She actively serves on nonprofit boards and committees, coaches youth soccer teams, volunteers throughout the local community and church, and is married with four children.