Agents move from basic virtual tours to interactive floor plans

San Diego, – From the floor of the REALTORS® Conference and Expo, a la mode, inc., one of the real estate industry’s largest and most mission critical technology companies, announced today the release of its groundbreaking DaVinci TourSketch system for real estate brokers and agents.

Already in daily use by tens of thousands of real estate appraisers in desktop, Tablet PC, and iPhone format, the new agent version of DaVinci adds new features specifically designed for showcasing listings in a floorplan-centric manner.  Agents inherit all of the class-leading drawing and square footage calculation features from the appraisal version, and also benefit from new multimedia features such as placement of links to photos, and publishing directly to a free interactive tour compatible with any website.

When utilized on a Tablet PC, agents use the pen to draw freeform walls naturally and easily.  Dimensions are likewise penciled in next to the walls, avoiding the confusing commands which are common in CAD-like programs.  Instead, as soon as DaVinci has all of the walls and dimensions in “napkin sketch format”, it automatically redraws the whole floorplan in presentation-quality format.  Agents and appraisers who’ve watched the system create a perfect digital drawing from a rough sketch in a split second – complete with square footage calculations – say it’s nothing short of revolutionary.

Homeowners are impressed as well.  Watching an agent use sophisticated handheld technology as they walk around the property breeds confidence in the agent’s ability to capitalize on an increasingly technology-driven real estate transaction.  When an agent completes a floorplan, annotates it with digital photo hyperlinks showing where each photo was taken and what direction the camera was facing, and then quickly uploads it to a fully interactive tour on their website before they even leave the property, homeowners start off the relationship with an immediately boosted opinion of the agent.

“In a market with agent commissions under constant attack, it’s critical that agents continually set themselves apart from their competition and that they remind Internet-savvy buyers and sellers of their relevancy.  Our new DaVinci TourSketch gives them that leg up and is just one more example of our commitment to this market,” said Scott Kinnaird, a la mode’s CEO. “Plus, besides fostering innovation, it cuts an agent’s front-loaded hard costs, since expensive and outdated virtual tour services can be dropped.”

Dustin Moore, a la mode’s divisional vice president in charge of agent products, echoed the enthusiasm for DaVinci TourSketch. “It’s another example of the positive cross-pollination of ideas from our various markets, in this case from our market-dominating appraisal line.  With additional agent products evolving from our mortgage lineup, such as our SureDocs system with nearly 3 million digital document signings under its belt, I’m really excited about our offerings for 2009 and beyond.  We’re innovating in ways and at a pace unmatched by anyone else in this market.  It’s really cool to watch.”

DaVinci TourSketch is available now in desktop and Tablet PC formats, with the iPhone version slated to follow next quarter.

For more information about DaVinci TourSketch as well as all of a la mode’s products, visit www.alamode.com or call 1-800-252-6633.

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About a la mode

Founded in 1985, a la mode develops desktop tools, mobile tools, web sites for real estate professionals, mortgage brokers, and appraisers. a la mode’s flagship product, WinTOTAL form-filling software for appraisers leads the residential appraisal industry.  a la mode’s Mercury Network, a vendor management platform for lenders, provides the most experienced local appraisers in an HVCC-compliant, easy-to-use loan ordering and management application. a la mode’s mission-critical products are used by hundreds of thousands of appraisers, agents, inspectors, and lending professionals to complete the nation’s real estate transactions.  The company’s state-of-the-art offices are located in Salt Lake City, Oklahoma City, and Washington, DC.  To learn more, visit www.alamode.com.