Podcasting homes for sale hottest new technology for real estate agents

a la mode Introduces Podcasting Audio Technology to 7,500 Agents Nationwide To Help Them Win More Listings,
Better Market Homes

OKLAHOMA CITY, OK — Helping real estate agents gain more listings and put the latest cutting-edge technology to work, a la mode, a leading developer of tools for real estate professionals, today announced that its nearly 7,500 agent customers nationwide are now able to podcast information on homes for sale to customers with iPods, portable MP3 players, and personal computers.

a la mode is the real estate industry’s first company to offer podcasting to real estate agents and is making its podcasting technology available to all of its Agent XSite website customers at no cost.

With podcasting technology, real estate professionals can record and distribute property descriptions as spoken audio files – known as podcasts – to the growing legion of millions of home buyers and sellers using this new medium.

National research shows that the time is right for podcasts as a means of communicating with consumers: Earlier this year, the Pew Internet and American Life Project found that 22 million Americans own an MP3 player and that 29 percent of them had downloaded a podcast.  What’s more, Apple has sold 28 million iPods since their introduction.  And by 2006, 30 percent of new cars are expected to have an iPod option.

“Podcasting has exploded because it delivers content automatically for ultimate consumer convenience,” said Rusty Lindquist, a la mode’s Vice President of Agent Products. “It’s the perfect medium for pushing listing information.”

Lindquist continues, “It allows our customers to walk into a listing presentation confident they can market a property like no one else.  That’s something today’s increasingly tech-savvy home owners look for, and can be the tipping point to winning the listing.”

Typically, Lindquist said, agents would need to spend hundreds – possibly thousands – of dollars to customize their website for podcasting. “With an Agent XSite, our listing podcast technology is available immediately and at no cost, so agents can begin podcasting home information to prospects today.”

A podcast is more than just a clickable audio recording.  Home shoppers can sign up at their agent’s XSite to automatically receive new listing podcasts in the neighborhood they’re looking whenever they plug their iPod or device into their computer.  First-time visitors to an Agent XSite can listen to the podcasts right on their computer, too, and can receive e-mail notifications when new podcasts are available if they don’t have a player or don’t “synchronize” their device on a regular basis.

“Podcasting is a remarkably cost effective marketing tool that enables me to better service both buyers and sellers,” said Todd Ernst, a Keller Williams agent from Grand Rapids, Mich. “Podcasting gives buyers more detailed listing information at their leisure and provides me with a huge advantage when it comes to listing presentations.  Sellers are impressed that they I can now market their homes to tens of millions of iPod and MP3 users,” said Ernst, whose Agent XSite can be found at www.toddernst.com.

This is the latest example of a la mode bringing the latest cutting-edge technology to its Agent XSite users, as a free update.  In August, a la mode became one of the industry’s first companies to embed Google Earth home-mapping technology, making it – like podcasting – available at no extra cost to customers.

The company will demonstrate listing podcasts at booth #2237 at the National Association of REALTORS® Conference and Expo in San Francisco, October 28-31.

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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.