Real estate goes real time

Selling solutions abound for brokers

A real estate agent wants to stay on top of sales leads, so he hires a software firm to create a Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) phone system to alert agents on the road or in the office. Another agency wants to reduce the time spent making appointments, so the manager enlists the help of a data call center for brokers. The son of a real estate software guru hopes to re-launch his father’s company to provide database solutions to Multiple Listing Services (MLS) across the country.

By and large, the real estate model has evolved from one of driving clients from house to house to one of high speed connections and customers who often have done their homework before even consulting with an agent. The birth of the savvy homeowner has lead to local real estate agents allotting more money for their online marketing budgets, and enlisting the services of local firms headquartered in a region that embraces high technology.

Despite still being considered a full-service business, traditional real estate agencies have found that buyers and sellers alike are more informed and independent than in the past. While for-sale-by owner services have been available for years, a hot housing market in 2004 led to the arrival of several new web-based companies willing to list homes in the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) and let the owner shoulder the actual selling of the property. Homeowners are responsible for handling showings, home inspections, and negotiating a final price. However, the MLS, long considered to be the bible of real estate brokers, does not always guarantee a sale, especially in a cooling market.

Now, local real estate firms are doing more than ever to remind clients that a full-service firm is worth the commission fees. Between preparing market analyses, arranging advertising, and scheduling appointments, agencies want to leave customers with the impression that full-service is the most effective way to sell. However, several area firms have enlisted the help of outside companies to better serve their clients, all in the name of never losing a prospect.

Chodat: Services like MAPASS have helped simplify an agent∀ˆ™s daily duties.

No mousetrap needed

When print advertising was all that a house hunter had to go on, a fair amount of responsibility was placed on the agent to answer the phone and explain the ins and outs of featured properties. With the arrival of virtual tours and online showcases, most customers receive an in-depth education of the listing before seeking help from their local agent.

That sprit of independence, along with visions of selling homes without shelling out between five and six percent of the selling price to an agent, led to the birth of businesses like ISoldMyHouse.com, web-based services that market themselves as alternatives to full-service brokerages. Pat Rioux, broker/owner of Marlboro-based listforless.com, has been running her business since 1998, but noticed a changing tide when house values skyrocketed.

"2004 was the exponential year," says Rioux. "At least 15 companies are out there doing what I do now."

Rioux’s services allow customers to pay a flat fee of $555 to have their home placed in MLS for six months, as well as other services like a professional yard sign and a recorded message describing the home on an 800 number. Rioux says that customers must understand it is their responsibility to host open houses, schedule appointments and handle legalities like home inspections and asbestos removal.

Exchanging information has become the backbone of what has led to the creation of local companies catering to the needs of realtors. For example, Westboro-based mapass.com helps clear the schedules of realtors and independent sellers by offering appointment-scheduling services. Agents using MA PASS can leave the coordination up to the call center instead of attempting to schedule showings and coordinate with the homeowner on their own time.

"With the call center, there’s always somebody to answer the phone," says Walid Saba, president of MA PASS. "It’s a time management tool."

The site is more than that, though. On it, users can leave feedback for agents who are showing the property, as can homeowners doing the work themselves. By having the option to leave feedback, house hunters can inform sellers whether the showing was effective, and what they can do to improve their chances of selling. The database also includes a marketing log, where selling agents can show homeowners what will be done to make their home as appealing to buyers as possible.

Listings using MA PASS show up in MLS with a logo indicating that the firm’s services are available to interested agents. For a $100 yearly membership fee and $25 fee per listing, agents can use its services. Saba notes that as a real estate agent, being your own boss is part of the job - and scheduling appointments shouldn’t be a concern. Says Saba: "How many CEOs spend time making appointments?"

"Agents were wanting to take less and less time to schedule appointments," says Chodat, a MA PASS user. "Offices were hiring call coordinators, but MA PASS is a service that is provided to the agents."

Saba’s business has grown 30 to 40 percent each year, and commanding 10 to 13 percent of the market. Says Saba: "I’m trying to make the business life of a realtor an easier one."

of Marlboro-based Moshew Communications, provides VoIP phone service for Brown & Brown Real Estate in Shrewsbury. While the technology itself is not new, VoIP has yet to unseat PBX business phones systems as the standard in phone service. Agencies like Brown & Brown, however, demonstrate its effectiveness on a daily basis.

The essence of Moshew’s service is this: phone calls are routed through an Internet server, and feature a preprogrammed structure that will automatically route the call. If the first agent can’t answer their phone, the call is instantly sent to another extension in Brown & Brown’s office. The end goal: No calls are ignored. "You try to not let any calls go to voicemail," says Moshew’s Cahill.

"As a business owner, I have to find new technology to support my agents," says Jim Brown, broker/owner of Brown & Brown. Brown uses a software service from Moshew called "Follow-me", a program that tracks down the agents. For example, an agent can set up the service to ring their mobile phone and then their home phone should the first call go unanswered. "No lost opportunities," says Brown, who adds that the service will also send audible emails to his Blackberry, yet another medium by which agents do business.

Still other companies strive to break into the market and offer their services to agencies on a local, state, and national basis. Enter Quest Technologies of Marlboro, a software firm that for years has been invested in developing programs for MLS providers. After a series of conclusions that lead to a decision to overhaul the company’s products and services, the founder’s son, Mazen Ramadan, has taken over as Director of Operations and has been repositioning the company to redefine MLS standards and bring new clients on board. Userquest MLS, the company’s flagship software program, is designed for use by MLS’s and 3rd party vendors across the nation. The package contains tools needed by agents and offices such as contact and transaction management, searching capabilities, and advanced market analysis. Ramadan wants to showcase the program as all-encompassing service that doesn’t discriminate when it comes to what types of clients it serves and what services are offered.

"We want to bridge the gap between real estate and technology by empowering MLS users across the nation," says Ramadan. The interface allows users to customize features and modules available for use and to personalize the software by modifying images and colors to brand the software on an individual basis.

The final product is nearing completion and ready for sale. Ramadan says various providers have already expressed their interest, and that the company hopes to collect regional boards as clients and eventually offer statewide services. "Real estate agents want options and streamlined user interfaces that make their jobs easier with access to statewide and national data," says Ramadan.

Clients dictate market trends

For local realtors, how homes are sold will continue to be defined by customers. Rick Healey, broker/owner of Foster Healey Real Estate in Leominster, notes that his spending on web advertising has increased as a result of customers wanting to take virtual tours. "Exposure on the web is critical," says Healey, who adds that his firm added slideshows and tours to the company’s page on realtor.com.

In the Commonwealth, the client DNA is unique, says John Dulczewski, director of communications for the Massachusetts Association of Realtors.

"The various business technologies that are now catering to the real estate industry reflect the technological nature of consumers in the Massachusetts marketplace," says Dulczewski.