On Aug 25, 7:36*am, 4phun <vic.hea...@gmail.com> wrote:
> http://digg.com/programming/Trulia_G...ile_Adds_Feeds
iPhone Applications August 25, 2008, 12:00AM EST
House Finder
Front Door
StreetEasy
Businessweek
Trulia's New iPhone House Finder
The free app lets iPhone-toting house hunters find listings and open
houses in their vicinity. But it's not the only smartphone real estate
tool
by Prashant Gopal
http://www.businessweek.com/technolo...n_id=rss_daily
House hunting? Forget the listing agents and classified ads. Now you
can find homes for sale with a few taps on a smartphone.
Trulia, one of the Web's most visited home listing sites, on Aug. 25
is introducing a tool available on Apple's (AAPL) iPhone that can
locate all the listings and open houses in a user's vicinity.
The free software application uses navigation technology to summon
data and displays the results on an interactive map. It lets users
call up such information as price, photos, square footage, and number
of bedrooms. Another tap of the screen sends a call or e-mail directly
to the listing agent. "It's all about convenience," says Trulia CEO
Pete Flint.
Trulia is also releasing home listing applications for Research In
Motion's (RIMM) BlackBerry, Samsung's BlackJack, and Dash Navigation's
Dash Express, which provides navigation services using GPS technology.
Trulia's service will also be available on various mobile operating
systems, and on devices made by Sony Ericsson and Nokia (NOK).
Competitive Playing Field
Trulia, which boasts information for 70% to 80% of the properties on
the multiple-listing service database of real estate listings, will be
the biggest listing site with an iPhone application. But it's hardly
alone. FrontDoor.com says it will introduce an iPhone application
later this year that not only searches nearby listings, but also
integrates video and information about what it's like to live in a
given neighborhood.
StreetEasy.com's two-week-old iPhone application, which provides
location-based for-sale listing information for New York City, has
been downloaded about 5,000 times. The application was designed with
New Yorkers in mind, letting surfers see available properties not just
in a neighborhood, but also in a given building.
Coming versions of StreetEasy's iPhone software will make it possible
to search for open house and broadcast observations about specific
buildings. "People are experiencing real estate by walking down the
street; they're not experiencing it in front of the computer," says
Dawn Doherty, StreetEasy's vice-president of business development. "It
takes people involved in searches one step closer to the tangible
product."
Greg Swann, a broker for BloodhoundRealty.com in Phoenix, says that
while the Trulia application may undermine the role of buyers' agents,
it will probably be a boon to sellers' agents and customers. He's
quick to add that as empowering as the iPhone apps may be for buyers,
they can't replace the advice and negotiating abilities of a good
Realtor. "Anyone can change their own oil," Swann says. "But then why
is there always a line for Jiffy Lube?"
Gopal writes about real estate for BusinessWeek.com in New York.
http://www.businessweek.com/technolo...n_id=rss_daily 
Real Estate on your Mobile Phone 
Linear Mode
