The finalists for this year’s Inman News Innovator Awards include household names and new arrivals, and run the gamut from Animoto to Zillow.
Winners of the 12th annual awards — which honor companies that use technology and innovation to enhance the real estate transaction process and improve the overall experience for consumers and real estate professionals — will be announced during the Real Estate Connect conference in San Francisco, which runs from Aug. 5-7.
The finalists are listed below in five categories: brokerage or franchise; new technology; Web service; blog; and media site. Additionally, an annual "Innovator of the Year Award" announced at the conference will recognize an individual who embodies the spirit of innovation in the real estate industry (finalists are not displayed for that category).
Last year (see 2008 winners), Bob Hale, CEO for the Houston Association of Realtors, received the Innovator of the Year Award; Sawbuck Realty received the brokerage category award; Estately.com was named the most innovative Web service; Roost won the most innovative technology award; Agent Genius was honored with the blog award; and FrontDoor.com received the Most Innovative Media Site award (see full list of last year’s finalists).
The 2009 Inman Innovator Awards finalists (in alphabetical order):
Most innovative brokerage or franchise
@properties
Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate
Coldwell Banker
John L. Scott
Nest Realty Group
Redfin
Most innovative new technology
Closing.com
Dwellicious
SmarterAgent
Walk Score
Zillow iPhone app
Most innovative Web service
Animoto
FranklyMLS.com
Proxio
SmartZip
Ubertor
Most innovative blog
Clean Slate Blog — Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate
IanWatt.ca video blog
MyTechOpinion.com blog
The Phoenix Real Estate Guy blog
Trust Me I’m a Realtor blog — Frankly Realty
Most innovative media site
Breaking News Network — Domus Consulting Group
TheClozing.com
Coldwell Banker On Location
MetroBrokersTV.com
RealEstateTalk.com.au
The selection process
Each year, Inman News announces the launch of the Inman News Innovator Awards process with a call for nominations at least three months before the Real Estate Connect conference.
Nominations are open to all and are submitted online. An Inman News review team considers the nominations and selects a list of finalists, and the finalists are drawn from the nominees and a list of other prospects suggested by the Inman News editorial team. The review team selects the winners from the list of finalists.
Witness the Inman News Innovator Awards ceremony at the upcoming Real Estate Connect conference in San Francisco. The conference runs from Aug. 5-7, 2009.
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