We now spend more time tooling around in our mobile apps than we do with any other single functionality our smartphones and tablets offer. The world is literally at our fingertips, and it’s making it easier than ever to conduct business on the fly. For real estate agents, the tech wave has led to the launch of dozens of apps that promise everything from MLS access to client management interfaces. Which real estate mobile apps will make your day easier and bring your commission advance closer within reach? Start with these six.
1. Canva: Marketing and Graphic Design Made Easy
If you’re still making open house flyers in Microsoft Paint and posting listing announcements using Facebook status updates, you’re seriously doing it wrong. Canva’s simple interface allows even total design noobs to customize beautiful templates and create eye-catching documents ranging from letterhead to brochures to event invitations.
2. Placester: The 21st-Century Rolodex
Decades ago, you had to rely on a stack of dog-eared business cards to track buyers and sellers. Today, monitoring leads is so much easier thanks to intuitive marketing platforms like Placester. Enter leads, receive notifications, create notes and tasks, and communicate with clients all from one central app. It’s easy, it’s smart, and it’s well worth the $20 fee.
3. Houzz: Reimagining Renovation
Staging is one thing, but buyers often disagree with how a home is decorated or tour a naked home and struggle to envision what their belongings would look like should they purchase and furnish the space. Houzz is basically a monumental library of interior design photos combined with advice from decorating professionals and access to actual for-sale items. It’s a one-stop shop for amateur and professional design enthusiasts alike, and introducing your clients to it could just help finalize your next sale.
4. Commission Express: The Commission Advance Company Agents Trust
Waiting on a commission can be ridiculously aggravating for agents who need the income to support staffing, investments or simply day-to-day living. Commission Express has helped facilitate more than $700 million in listing advances, and now its secure app provides easy account access and speedy transfers controlled right from your mobile device.
Download the Commission Express App
5. Hours: Tracking and Improving Efficiency
You’ll never get more hours in the day, but you can get more done in the time you have if you’re able to identify and eliminate wasteful activities. Hours works for both solo agents and teams, tracking everything from in-house meetings to client appointments, so you can see where you might start working smarter instead of harder. Schedule appointments, make plans, and analyze it all with a few flicks of your fingers.
6. Facebook: Social Media for the Masses
Instagram is a majorly useful tool for real estate agents, and Twitter and Snapchat offer some key benefits as well, but when it comes to wide reach and targeted ads, Facebook is still in the lead. Having the app on your phone helps you stay connected and process leads; having the Facebook Pages app on hand is an even better way to keep track of your ads and promotional posts while you’re on the go.
Time is money, and the more you streamline your day, the greater your commission advance will eventually be. Whether you’re a real estate agent just starting out or an experienced broker eager to up your game, these forward-thinking apps can help you grow — and you don’t even have to break your stride.
