As you know by now, Brookfield acquired Prudential Real Estate and Relocation.
It will be interesting to see what Brookfield does here from a digital perspective.
From 1995 to about 2005, Pru made some interesting moves. They bought controversial VOW-based brokerage eRealty, cut an exclusive deal with Yahoo! Real Estate, and had, during the late ‘90’s, a CEO (Steve Ozonian) known for embracing technology.
The last five years have been quieter. The company released Online Seller Advantage a while back, an application that provides detailed listing activity reports. Agents seem to like it. But the brand’s web presence is scattered.
With the long-term naming of Prudential affiliates in question, it will be challenging for Brookfield to remedy this. But I expect they will try.
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Check this screen cap from Trulia:
Pretty aggressive. But smart. Big brokers with significant traffic should take note. There’s lots of ways to monetize an audience.
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It’s gonna be cool when we can smell online property listings, but first we need to nail the visuals. I’m kinda-sorta looking for a new place and have been reminded just how far we are from covering this fundamental aspect of property marketing.
Check out Gojee, a new recipe site. Click around a bit. It would be nice to browse properties this way, wouldn’t it?
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But photos are not just about listings…
Instalook launched this week. It’s an Instagram mashup that displays people and photos around you at any time. Thought about in a home search context, this app lets you “look under the hood” of a neighborhood in a way you can’t quite achieve with data.
Yes, the photos are not real estate related, and that’s exactly the point. Buyers look for a home of course, but, more importantly, they are looking for a place to live. This app delivers a slice of life.
Here’s a slice near me right now:
If you have a developer, check out Instagram’s API. It’s fun thinking about the possibilities.
Have a great weekend!
