A house-hunting couple pulls their car to a stop in front of an attractive two-story house. A listing sign in the yard suggests they tune the car radio to a certain frequency, so they can hear a radio broadcast of the home's special features, including number of bedrooms and bathrooms and special amenities. What they hear whets the appetite of Mr. and Mrs. Home Shopper to make an appointment to take a look inside. As an agent, this is the scenario of your dreams ... a selling tool that speaks in your client's behalf.

Talking House is a mini radio station that broadcasts a prerecorded message about a listing, 24 hours a day, without waking or annoying your seller or flooding you with tire-kickers. Fully F.C.C.-approved, Talking House is only slightly larger than a telephone answering machine. Available from Realty Electronics in Fond Du Lac, Wis., the devices sell for about $200 apiece and have assisted more than 5,000 agents in marketing homes.

Although the device has other uses, it is a perfect marketing tool for agents, according to company spokeswoman Jayne Gray. The device was invented by Scott Matthew, who was undaunted by electronics industry predictions that the Talking House concept would never sell. Matthew used them in his own realty company, found them effective, and closed that company to begin mass production.

Talking Houses aren't for everyone. A longtime agent near St. Louis says the device puts agents on the level of used-car salesmen, while another said they remind people of voice mail -- but those who try one often order more. Many agents have found them so effective, they have purchased as many as 10 or more, bringing the company's sales to more than 55,000 units to date.

Dennis Hayden, an agent at RE/MAX Premiere Realty in St. Louis, has three units and wants 10 more. "They work very well," he told the St. Louis Post Dispatch. "I'm getting a lot of calls, and from people who are really pretty good prospects because they already know a lot about the house when they call."

The message can run up to three minutes and transmits for about 300 feet. The sound doesn't blare out of loudspeakers to upset the neighbors, and neither does it interfere with their radio reception. Agents can get help with "scripts" and are encouraged to use language which might make the Talking House even more appealing: "spacious, bright, airy, modern, stylish, luxurious, adding identifying details wherever possible."

Besides the convenience it offers house-hunters, the Talking House has also proven itself a boon to agents. Rick Chumsae with Sandy Messer & Associates in El Paso, Texas, was invited to appear on two local TV shows and a local radio program after introducing the Talking House in his market. "It was huge coverage," he says. "And the best part is, I got a listing immediately from it. A woman called the next day, said she'd seen the spot, and wanted the Talking House for her home."

Published: March 27, 1998

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