Homes.com Adds to iPhone Apps
Homes.com joins the ranks of Trulia and StreetEasy this week and announced the launch of a new iPhone application (iTunes link).
The app is functional enough and grabs its listings from a combination of broker feeds and from the network of websites run by Homes.com parent Dominion Enterprises, which runs the Advanced Access, AgentAdvantage, eNeighborhoods, and Number1Expert web sites.
Real estate has been an exploding category on the iTunes store (though not at the same pace as tip calculators and fart applications), and so far we’ve seen a handful of the aforementioned search portals jump into the fray and even seen some of the brands join the frenzy (see Coldwell Banker Launches iPhone App).
Ultimately however, all of the dedicated real estate apps on the iPhone have a fairly standard feature set that includes maps, driving directions and property detail pages. And most take advantage of the iPhone’s location awareness too to show you any nearby properties.
But the problem with these apps frankly is that they all suffer from biggest issue affecting their desktop counterparts as well. Lack of inventory. Or lousy inventory.
This becomes even more apparent in a mobile environment when a listing that clearly has a for sale sign in the yard (especially one that you’re standing in front of), doesn’t appear in your search results. Or you when the property you’re being guided to has been removed from the market.
House hunting is a natural fit for the mobile platform (see House Hunting On The Go) but suffers greatly from these inaccuracies. While the big search sites may have all but tied up the experience on the desktop, the palm top is still wide open. While there have been iPhone optimized web sites (like Intero’s) that are MLS backed unfortunately they haven’t moved to becoming dedicated apps yet and so suffer a little from the slight.
There is a real opportunity for an MLS driven search solution here, whether it be broker driven or association driven, to corner the mobile market in local markets. I, for one, am still waiting.
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CJ Brasiel | Mar 3, 2009 | Reply
The challenge with the mobile search is the TRUE local MLS is not there. The web based sites depend on agent updates. The feeds are not real time or properly managed. (Accurate data, etc.) On the other hand, local MLS do not provide mobile data (FLASH impaired). From an agent perspective this is one of the weakest legs of moving with the internet client. Looking forward to more improvements.
Chris Fyvie | Mar 4, 2009 | Reply
Not fair… you guys get all the cool aps first… all we got in Canada was the first shot at dealing with overheating / troubleshooting the Blackberry Bold for you.
Marlow | Mar 4, 2009 | Reply
I think if brokerages would just optimize their sites for the web, then anyone with any kind of phone could do an easy online search.
But you know what we really need is an iphone app for the Supra Key system. Though the iphones don’t have an infrared port, there is a small device you can plug into them that will do the trick to open the keyboxes. That would be sweet.
David Wittlinger | Mar 4, 2009 | Reply
While I believe that the iPhone application and similar technologies that are bridging the gap between phones & listings is a vital step in the next generation of home sales, I still think that text messaging is currently the best way to go. As you pointed out, the drawback to using the iPhone app comes into play when I’m standing in front of a listing and it’s not in the system (ie. on my phone). You don’t have this problem if you’re using a text message platform to transmit the listing information. Better yet, the text technology allows the agent to capture the lead (not an option with the iPhone app, that I know of).
Louis Cammarosano | Mar 6, 2009 | Reply
I think iphone apps are overrated.
Most web pages render wonderfully on the iphone.
Homefinder has an iphone app as does homegain.
I think the pages look better in the safari browser
Brendan Aiello | Mar 10, 2009 | Reply
Hi Joel,
Thanks for the heads up. I will download it and tinker with it. I think Trulia still tops them because I think Homes.com only allows members to post real estate ads on their site while trulia also allows IDX feeds to upload onto the site. This lack of inventory will hurt them tremendously. Trulia takes up to 2-4 weeks to get them on the site though and by that time they could have a price reduction.
-Brendan
Betsy Bowman | Mar 13, 2009 | Reply
Is there something like this for a single listing…we have had great success with a call capture type system with riders on our signs…if we could use something similar and enhance it for iPhone apps, that would be impressive.
Marty Lachance (Utopria) | Apr 28, 2009 | Reply
Betsy, I invite you to look at how Utopria has leveraged the iPhone. We have a single listing portal that is also is based on call capture system, completely integrated.
Buyers from the curb can choose to call or use the iPhone to view photos, video, maps, audio and more.
There is a video of the platform on our website.
Chris, we are Canadian based and our platforms work coast-to-coast.