Four simple downloads
As a Realtor, you probably already accept that you co-broker with Google, but many of you have probably come up against buyers who whip out an iPhone and have obscure facts that you have no idea how they’ve come up with.
We thought we would show you a few apps available that consumers may use while on a home tour.
Ride the City
First, you should know about “Ride the City,” an iPhone app that has recently been released to help people discover biking paths based on safety or direct route. If rideability is important to your client, they may pull out their phone, enter the address where you are and determine if it is suitable based on their biking needs and continue on with the tour or immediately disqualify it if biking routes are deemed unsafe.
There is a website that offers the same information as the iPhone app that can use in advance of a tour for your own research. It is currently available in Austin, Chicago, D.C., Louisville, New York City, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle and Toronto.
GreenSpace Map
Second, if your client is environmentally conscious, they may consult their iPhone during a home tour to check out the GreenSpace Map App to see if there are any Environmental Protection Agency violations, incidents, or investigations nearby.
They can select any number of variables to plot EPA data on a map in the palm of their hand, so as a field agent, you should be aware that consumers are studying far more than the MLS data our industry has held so dear. Sales data knowledge is sooo 1990, even EPA information is available for consumers in mere moments.
Crime Reports
Two iPhone apps are available that influence consumer decisions quite heavily- CrimeReports and Criminal Spot, both focused on showing criminal activity on a map.
With CrimeReports, users can instantly see what crime is reported to the precinct around them and make an educated buying decision. If precincts aren’t reporting data, they will at least see sex offender addresses plotted on the map.
Criminal Spot encourages users to report to the Criminal Spot community if they see “suspicious” behavior, so it’s not just documented crime consumers are being made aware of but perceived crime.
You likely won’t hear the question “is this neighborhood safe?” for much longer as buyers know they can check it out for themselves online or even in the palm of their hand in real time.
The future is here
Times are changing and agents shouldn’t close their eyes or get frustrated with the new buyer that is educated either in advance of a tour or during a tour. There will be times that a geeky forty something will be in a home that they love but while tooling around on their iPhone suddenly find something that’s a deal breaker, and that will become a common part of business the industry will be adjusting to… quickly.
Steve Beam
April 23, 2010 at 12:30 pm
There are so many apps available and some of them are really close to being actually very useful. I look forward to these apps maturing and adding features that will truly make them useful. There are a lot of the same type of apps doing the same thing but only a VERY few that have all the goodies. I end up using 2 different apps to do the same thing.
Billy Jalbert
April 4, 2011 at 2:37 pm
I’d be surprised if many clients are using the crime apps. They are out of date and have horrible reviews. Not sure if you guys researched this one…
Lani Rosales
April 4, 2011 at 2:51 pm
Billy, a year ago when this was published, they were up to date in our area and performed well, but things change. We believe county records online are the *best* way for consumers to review any of this information, but the truth is that they’ll be whipping out their iPhones and using the first crime app that they see, be it accurate or not.
Good thing you’ve done your homework and know the accuracy in your area and are equipped to guide your buyers/sellers! 🙂