Mobile app a hit with homebuyers

Gervais
Gervais

Homebuyers have dramatically increased their use of the RILiving mobile app to get information on properties for sale, with nearly triple the number of searches performed in the first seven months of 2014 compared to the same period in 2013.
“I think the mobile app is starting to be a leading tool to let homebuyers look for properties,” said Michael Letendre, chief information officer for Rhode Island State-Wide Multiple Listing Service.
The RILiving mobile app connects buyers to the State-Wide MLS listings. Realtors can also brand the app with their own contact information, so that once homebuyers download the branded app, that Realtor’s contact information comes up for every property the buyer searches.
Numbers for the main RILiving app show the homebuyers are finding smartphone apps an increasingly convenient way to get the rundown on properties.
From Jan. 1 to July 26, the number of property searches performed through the RILiving app reached 125,065, nearly triple the number for the same period in the previous year, when 42,648 searches were done with the app.
“Consumers today are very technology savvy and empowered with a lot of knowledge,” said Guy Gervais, a Realtor with Century 21 Crossroads in Glocester, who branded the RILiving app with his information about six months ago.
“They go online and know the data inside out even before they call you,” he said. “By the time they start working with a Realtor, they’re already on their game plan.”
State-Wide MLS data shows the increased use of the RILiving app for the detailed game plans.
In addition to nearly triple the number of searches for the first part of this year compared to last year, the number of homebuyers who took the next step to “click-through” and get details on an individual property has more than tripled. From Jan. 1 through July 26, the number of views of detailed reports of individual properties reached 252,676, said Letendre. That compares with 71,220 during the same period in 2013.
The RILiving app increases the ability to find available properties while cruising through a preferred neighborhood.
“If they’re using the app, they can just stop the car and there’s a button on the app that lets them see all the houses near them that are for sale,” said Gervais. “If they find what they’re interested in and it’s my branded app, they can just click on ‘Contact Guy.’ ”
Gervais is an early adopter of mobile apps for Realtors. He tried others before the RILiving app.
“I had one before that was really frustrating,” said Gervais. “It was difficult to log on. It would hang up. It would crash. It was not only useless, if I gave it to my customers, they’d be annoyed. And I paid for a year’s subscription to that.”
The RILiving app has nice features and works well for buyers searching in the Ocean State, he said.
“I often work with buyers who found a property on Trulia or Zillow and it turns out that there was a sale pending or it sold six months ago,” said Gervais. “Trulia and Zillow don’t keep up with the properties after they list them and they don’t seem to purge their database.
“When my customers use the RILiving app, they’re getting the current information for Rhode Island properties,” he said.
Gervais said he considers the RILving mobile app helpful, but hasn’t noticed a dramatic change in his overall business since he’s been using it.
“I’d say more people are using the app and the branded app is good for the initial relationship,” said Gervais.
Although the increase in use was dramatic over the past year, use of the RILiving app had a slower start when it began in 2009, in large part because smartphones weren’t as common, said Letendre. The branded app was first made available to Realtors in March 2012. The RILiving app didn’t have a direct cost to State-Wide MLS, said Letendre. The app was developed and is managed by SmarterAgent, based in Collingswood, N.J.
“State-Wide MLS allocated internal staff resources to initially building the data content export and integration,” said Letendre. “Our partnership with SmarterAgent is that we’ll provide marketing support in exchange for use of the app.”
State-Wide MLS in Rhode Island has about 4,000 member Realtors, said Letendre.
So far, 80 Rhode Island State-Wide MLS member Realtors have purchased the RILiving app branded with their own information, said Sasha England, MLS manager for SmarterAgent Mobile.
The price of the branded RILiving app for the Realtor starts at $6.99 per month or $69.99 per year, said England.
The branded app provides valuable data for Realtors, said England.
“There is a dashboard Realtors get with the branded app, so they can track important statistics and leads,” she said.
Realtor Joseph Mullen of Exit Realty Pinnacle, based in Johnston, is multiplying the effect of his branded app through his extensive use of social media.
“As soon as I got the app I got new business cards with the text code for my branded app and added it on Facebook and Instagram,” said Mullen. “I’m a big social media Realtor. I get about 70 percent of my business that way.”
The next step in the development of the RILiving app would be to add more data layers, said Letendre.
“That would assist homebuyers with efficiently making a purchase decision,” he said. That additional data might include school districts, walk scores, traffic and flood zones. •

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