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Real Estate’s Surprisingly Hot High-Tech Tool is Actually a Traffic App

Written by Jaymi Naciri Posted On Thursday, 14 March 2019 05:00

What’s the one must-have technology tool for today’s real estate agents right now? Yes, lead generation tools, a good customer-relationship management system (CRM), and a virtual staging app are key. But it turns out an app meant for something else entirely may turn out to be the most useful tech tool for today’s real estate agents.

It’s Waze. Yes, the crowdsourced traffic app people use to find alternate routes when driving.

“Waze isn’t technically real estate agent software, but if you’re stuck in traffic, you’re not selling houses,” said Fit Small Business, who names the crowdsourced traffic app as one of their best bets on the list of the “43 Best Real Estate Software & Tools for Top Agents in 2019.” Waze lets you “focus on your business by providing up-to-the-minute traffic condition reports from other Waze users. Plus, it’s a great tool if you’re giving clients a tour of your listings and want to hit as many properties as possible. It saves you time, frustration, and best of all, gas money. Waze is a must-have on any realtor’s smartphone.”

Being able to guide you through heavy traffic isn’t the only advantage of using Waze.

A recent story in the Hollywood Reporter also mentioned the app (without using the name) as a contributing factor in the growth of neighborhoods in South Los Angeles “including Ladera Heights, View Park, Windsor Hills and Leimert Park — "that are now seeing double-digit annual price jumps in their historic homes and an influx of diverse new buyers in ZIP codes that traditionally have drawn mostly African-American families,” they said.

“You know what’s brought more visibility to the area — and I hate to give props to the technology — but it’s people driving through using a [navigation] app,” Coldwell Banker real estate agent, Janet Singleton, told them. “They’ll call up and say, ‘I just saw your sign. What is the name of this neighborhood? And how much is it?’”

Enterprising real estate companies like Daniel Gale Sotheby’s International Realty in Long Island and Queens, NY, are also exploring new ways “to capture a broader audience for its listings and Open Houses on Long Island and in Queens,” said Real Trends, and are finding Waze to be a great option”

Open houses show up as “a branded pin on the Waze map at its location and interested parties will be further directed” to the location,” they said. “A separate detailed takeover ad with additional information about the Open House will be revealed to the user when the vehicle is at a complete stop.”

Compass is another company working with Wave to have their listings show up on the app, and also provide another showcase for their new high-tech signs, which were rolled out last year.

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