Mobile real estate applications company Smarter Agent will build a free, branded mobile application for any interested multiple listing service, the company announced last week.
The consumer-facing app will be branded with the MLS name and logo, and all leads will be directed to the listing agent. In the last year, the company has built apps for agents and brokers from more than 250 MLSs, and "we’ve had a lot of interest at the MLS level for their own mobile solution," said Shelly Schwartz, spokesperson for Smarter Agent.
The apps are designed for a variety of phone platforms, including the iPhone, BlackBerry, Android and Palm operating systems; and non-smartphone systems on Sprint, T-Mobile, AT&T and Verizon.
"For the MLS to get this valuable mobile app, it’s a requirement that its members are not charged additional fees. We can do this because we are (a) venture-backed mobile firm and we want the industry to go mobile to meet consumer demand," Schwartz said.
"By offering our base product for free to an MLS, Smarter Agent hopes to reduce costs and frictions to brokers and agents as MLSs become more familiar with mobile, while at the same time providing a member benefit for MLSs."
The apps can contain ads from local retailers, Schwartz added, and "if these are revenue-generating, it is shared with the MLS as auxiliary income."
Smarter Agent recently acquired Toor.me, a mobile tagging and property tour startup.
