Have suggestions for products that you’d like to see reviewed by our real estate technology expert? Email Craig Rowe.
Like any actor over 40, a number of real estate software products have recently had some work done.
And yes, it’s really obvious.
Homesnap Pro
Homesnap Pro, the agent-to-agent mobile MLS, announced yesterday the integration of a comprehensive messaging feature.
I had a look at the new feature, and there’s not much here not to like.
Agents will have all the same functionality as the existing version in addition to the ability to engage with clients via instant messaging.
Each party can invite multiple folks to join a discussion, and each can be categorized under a specific property. Agents can invite contacts from their phone list, whether or not they hold a Homesnap account.
Message recipients can see a profile of who’s contacting them, and any link that’s sent via text, even from a third-party portal, will be opened in an agent’s Homesnap interface.
Agents can review every home they’ve messaged a prospect about from the “View Shared” menu, helping them keep track of popular listings. This view also offers a map-based overlook.
What I’m seeing in this Homesnap nip-and-tuck is more evidence of a larger trend in rapid, point-of-engagement communication between agents and their markets. Casual discussions will no doubt become more commonplace, as the arms’ length separation of instant messaging tends to imply.
Nevertheless, those discussions generate that much more data about a buyer or seller. This is a smart, productive upgrade to Homesnap Pro.
HelloSign
In my never-ending campaign against the evil that is “print/fill/scan/send,” the proverbial chainsaw on the end of my arm is HelloSign.
(If you get that reference, you can friend me on Facebook.)
This e-forms tool’s Gmail extension should be a part of any Google user’s inbox. Any Word or PDF sent your way is fillable with a single click, requiring no separate login.
Now HelloSign has added data validation to improve data accuracy while enforcing field-by-field content input rules. This is ideal for ensuring dates, prices and terms are input consistently.
This e-forms tool’s Gmail extension should be a part of any Google user’s inbox
They’ve also announced major interface alterations to further separate their product from its industry competitors.
Fans of competitor DocuSign might want to know a little about what makes their favorite e-sign tool so easy to use. Or at least, what inspired it.
PocketList App
San Francisco’s PocketList is playing a big role in the evolution of every agent’s favorite type of transaction.
Now the company’s recently released app for both iOS and Android will take the Bay Area’s unpublished listing market everywhere cash-ready, start-up millennials are discussing cubicle sleeping arrangements.
The exclusivity of the service may wane once a person in line at Starbucks glances over a member’s shoulder to see a home they didn’t hear about from their agent, but that may be a small price to pay for speeding the app’s adoption.
In fact, the PocketList app will give more people access to more properties. The market will become that much bigger for those who join.
Have a technology product you would like to discuss? Email Craig Rowe.
