The ability to listen is one of the most under-appreciated aspects of social media.
Jeff Turner is one of the thought leaders in this area. Take a moment to read his “Listening As Strategy” series of blog posts. It’s heady, insightful, mature thinking. If you know Jeff, you know he has an uncanny, instinctive way of truly grokking and communicating the deeper implications behind all this wonderful technology.
But the flip side to listening is asking. And while there are no shortage of outlets on the Web to ask a real estate related question, in my mind none of them are great. Redfin has its forums. Trulia has its Q&A section. On Zillow, they call it Advice.
The problem with many of these services, beyond what I outlined in my earlier post, is they require us to ask our questions in less than ideal circumstances.
First I must be tethered to my computer to ask a question, when most of my inquiries likely happen on the spot, when I’m away from my desk. Furthermore, the mechanic is unidirectional. I have to wait for an answer to be supplied, when what I really want is the answer now.
Mobile might just be the bridge however, that solves this conundrum.
Real Estate Answers is an Android app that I stumbled across recently.
It’s a simple idea really. As a consumer I can pose a question anytime, anywhere. A question like how long has this home been on the market? while I’m standing right outside.
That query is immediately geo-tagged and served up to a waiting pool of agents serving a kind of virtual floor time. They can respond in real-time through a controlled channel that initiates a conversation with that individual. It’s a chance for them to get “belly-to-belly,” so to speak, in a non-intrusive way.
I’ll be honest. The app is rough, no more than a concept really. But I think the idea is significant. It demonstrates the power of mobile platforms to deliver experiences that the desktop web could never approximate. To create new forums for conversation that are both highly contextual and immediate.
Honestly, someone should buy these guys. Or at least talk to them. I think there’s a real opportunity for brokers, brands or a portal to step out ahead of their competition with a tool that takes this idea an runs with it.
Think of it this way, if you can provide a platform for your agents to better listen to the questions consumers are asking, there’s a win in there for everyone.
Local, Mobile, Social and the future of real estate
20 Tools to Bring your Real Estate Business to the Cloud
15 Ways to Make Your Marketing Mobile
Joel,
Thank you for the kind words. The app is indeed rough and a concept as you suggest. The engine under the hood is RealtyBaron’s Answers API (http://bit.ly/l6TKzN). We have big ideas for the Answers API and welcome anyone — programmer, agent, broker, portal, and/or investor — to join us in moving real estate answers forward.
Thanks again!
I’ve used the Answers app on my phone standing in front of a For Sale sign. Five minutes later I had an answer and a lead on a realtor. Pretty cool.
Joel,
This is pretty sweet and I just checked it out. However I have to ask something…
“who the he’ll are these folks?”
I mean as a homebuyer and seller if I really wanted to know something I would probably pick up my phone and call my agent. But with this app is there any kind of training, minimum requirements or anything associated with the agents that are answering the questions?
Just trying to figure it out as it sounds like a great way for brokers to sluff leads off to the agents that they make the highest split off of. Or… Agents that are just trolling the web for leads.
Let me know your thoughts.
Matt,
The agents responding to questions are members of RealtyBaron.com. Before accepting a response, we ask for an agent’s licensing information for the state in which the question was asked. Furthermore, an agent’s answer will include a link to the agent’s AgentRank.com profile where consumers can view the agent’s photo, bio, sales, endorsements, forecasts, etc.
This app is most useful to the buyer and/or seller who has not yet hired an agent and has no one to call. The agents responding to questions are typically looking for new clients. A win-win.