Broker creates technology to inform homebuyers

Phoenix-based Realty Executives doesn't want its agents to have to rely on stocking enough fliers with "for sale" signs to give buyers information on a house.

The brokerage is unveiling its new Tag technology, which allows house hunters to use their phones to scan a code to download a property's information, at the National Association of Realtors conference in New Orleans later this week.

Some Realty Executives agents in Arizona and California already have started using Tag technology - unique graphic codes that function almost like bar codes - on property signs, brochures and business cards. People need a smartphone to access the technology.

"Rather than the industry fearing the Internet, we're embracing it," said Nicholas Yale, a Phoenix Realty Executives agent. "Open houses and fliers are outdated compared to the innovation of Tag technology. . . . It's the next step in the evolution of real estate."

Like Yale, Realty Executives agent Mary Swenson is using Tag listings to market homes in the Phoenix area.

Other Phoenix real-estate agents are also experimenting with similar technology known as QR codes, according to Arizona Realtor Magazine.

"We know that 93 percent of prospective homebuyers use the Internet to search for real estate," said Glenn Melton, chief executive officer of Realty Executives International. The brokerage operates in 24 countries.

Realty Executives hired Darrell Smith, co-founder of the Morpheus file-sharing application, to run its technology division.

by Caherine Reagor The Arizona Republic November 3, 2010



Broker creates technology to inform homebuyers