Technology Trends for the Real Estate Industry

Albert Clark is Principal Partner and creator of realPING LLC, the company he formed in late 2005. RealPING is a VoiP enabled Push to Talk Now service that agents can use with their online marketing to become what he calls "first responders."

Al has 16 years of experience merging technology with trends that bridge the gap between homeowners and real estate pros. In 1990, he founded the United Homeowners Association, a nationwide non-profit, grass roots organization that advocated legislative and regulatory changes designed to make homeownership more affordable. He was a founding member of President Clinton's National Homeownership Strategy. In 1996, he served as Regional Director and Director of Internet Sales at eNeighborhoods. In 2002, he created and still manages My Home Management Club, an online advocacy service where real estate pros enroll their sphere of influence.

In his Interview at Real Estate CyberSpace Radio he discusses the following real estate advice:

Technology Trends for the Real Estate Industry

1. Competition is keen, so agents have to use technology to differentiate their services; having a web site is not enough-it must offer ways for visitors to get information promptly and contact you when they need you.
2. Technology can be employed on your web site to embrace consumers and build rapport on their first or second visit.
3. Beware of lead generation sites that define "lead" loosely as any consumer who fills out an electronic form instead of limiting the category to people engaged and ready to buy; agents may pay a lot of money for "leads" that won't generate revenue for months or years, if ever.
4. The trend in marketing is to make contact simple for consumers-to offer urgency; Amazon, for example, has initiated Push to Talk buttons that allow customers to reach a human person within seconds.

In this briefing he also discusses the following real estate tips:

• Impact of the Internet on RE Practitioners
• RealPING Push to Talk
• Competitive Edge
• Broker Benefits
• Meeting Marketplace Demand
• Cost of Service