1. MagicPlan

Floor plans are an essential part of any real estate listing. With MagicPlan, you can quickly generate detailed floor plans using your iPhone or iPad’s camera. After a quick calibration process, the phone can accurately determine dimensions based on a few pictures of each room. Then you simply arrange the rooms on the grid. Floor plans can be saved to the phone, sent to contacts or emailed to you in PDF, JPG or DXF formats to make updating listings, clients or investors a snap.

2. Videolicious

Videolicious makes it easy to capture and edit video using your smartphone. Support for narrations, captions, music tracks and slide shows make it easy to create professional property previews without having to spend hours at the computer. Templates and video filters allow you to create engaging video and highlight key features of your property for increased impact as well. When you have finished your video, you can iCloud and iTunes integration makes retrieving your videos straightforward and simple.

3. Dragon Dictation

If you frequently use your phone to communicate with clients or take notes on a property, Dragon Dictation can help streamline the process. Unlike other dictation software, Dragon Dictation requires no lengthy voice training. The app can export entries to many popular iOS apps as well. This makes it easy to respond to emails, send a quick text message or create notes for later use without having to using the on-screen keyboard.

4. 360 Panorama

360 Panorama eliminates the expensive software and equipment needed to take panoramic images. The app works by taking pictures at specific intervals and then combining the images into one file. On-screen guides tell you when to shift your camera and help to avoid distortion and warping of the image. Once you have taken the picture, it is added to your image roll to make sharing or uploading your panoramas simple.

5. CardMunch

Powered by LinkedIn, CardMunch provides a convenient way to manage business card contacts. Using your device’s camera, the app sends a copy of the business card to a transcription center. The information is then added to a contact file and stored within your iPhone or iPad’s contact list. You can also set up an auto-response service through CardMunch that sends a digital copy of your contact information to any contact that you scan into your phone. This makes it easy to follow up with clients and improve response times.

6. Evernote

Evernote provides a central location to store and sort video, images, text, website snippets and other information that you collect throughout your day. The app automatically synchronizes all of your items with your Evernote account and computer applications for easy access from the home or office as well. Everything you enter into Evernote can then be sorted into albums and is indexed for easy searching later.

7. Property Evaluator

In-depth calculations, formatting and other aspects of creating a property evaluation take a significant amount of time. With this app, you can complete much of the process from your device while you are on location. Templates include a coversheet, multiple photos, GPS maps, expense, profitability and many other items. The Pro version allows branding and template customization for added flexibility. Once you have entered the required information, the app creates a PDF file that is ready to email to clients, investment partners and lenders.

We hope these apps help you develop a more efficient, profitable real estate business.

About the Author: Jennifer D’Angelo has been writing about the real estate industry for companies like Right Residential for nearly a decade. When she’s not writing, Jen enjoys relaxing by the pool with a good book!

*Screenshots taken from iTunes

Designed with architects, interior designers and other visually driven professionals in mind, the Portfolio App allows a user to publish their entire portfolio, including photos and videos, assign geo-information and related “web-mobile views.”

The developer will customize the app for your business as well as host it. Included with the app is a “EasyPublish” tool which lets users communicate directly with their target audience though one-click publishing on the iPad, Twitter and Facebook.

It’s possible to browse projects offline, and the geo-information linked with Google map provides all of the information your clients are searching for – boosting your company’s image and garnering trust from your customers.

Mohamemd Al Assam, Chairman and Managing Director, Dewan Architects and Engineers, noted:

“The ‘Dewan Architects and Engineers’ iPad App is the newest platform launched by Dewan to help us communicate with our clients and partners globally by using the latest platforms linked to social media. The App is intuitive, aesthetically attractive and allows our visitors to store information about our projects onto their devices, locate our projects on Google map, and learn more about our corporate news as they occur. The great work done by the KnowledgeView team who developed the app has made the presentation of our architectural work appealing and helps us to further broaden our market reach”.

What better way to showcase your homes – both those you’ve sold (together with testimonials from happy home-owners) and those you are currently listing. If you’re among the millions of iPad users, this new app is something you don’t want to miss. Prefer to use an iPhone? No worries, this app has been designed for mobile portability as well.

Even when it comes to mortgages potential buyers would benefit from an app on their phone, tablet or computer that would help them through the application process.

What would this app include? While each person and situation is different there are certain standard tasks, paperwork and requirements to making it through the application process for mortgages.

Any type of app that would be able to make this process smoother would be valuable to buyers everywhere.

How much home can you afford? Without any of your credit information it would be great to have an app that would be able to calculate the approximate cost of home mortgages and more specifically, the monthly payment.

You would be able to look at homes and plug in a variety of different numbers to see just what you think you can afford. While you would still need a lender to provide you with a legitimate pre-approval, this would at least give you a starting point.

Off the top of your head, do you know exactly what information your lender needs? No matter what lenders you choose to work with there are certain pieces of information necessary to gain an estimate of what you can afford as well as final credit approval.

A mortgage app that keeps track of your documents would be incredibly helpful. As you acquire the paperwork the app would be able to check that requirement off the list.

To make the app even more valuable it would keep a copy of the document. If there was a problem or another copy is needed, with just the touch of a button, the paperwork would be emailed out to the lender.

Mortgages also have deadlines. Some paperwork needs to be turned in right away to ensure that a person is pre-approved for a home loan. The ideal app would make you aware of the deadlines and create reminders when due dates are approaching.

Most of the time, right before the actual purchase of the home, a buyer needs to once again submit paperwork to show that they are able to afford the house.

Could you imagine an app that reminds you one week in advance about the paperwork that you need to provide the lender? Once you send it over, the reminder would turn itself off.

When you fill out paperwork for mortgages there is some information that is required over and over again. If you don’t know these numbers off the top of your head it can send you back to a pile of paperwork over and over again.

An app that would organize your personal information would be beneficial throughout the mortgage process. This app would be able to keep the information secure and bring it up to the screen whenever you needed it.

As an added bonus, in order for this app to make mortgages for buyers easier, the current interest rates would always be on hand to examine.

You can always go and look them up yourself, but if an app is going to help you get through the mortgage process you want everything to be at your fingertips.

Article provided by MoneySupermarket where you can compare a range of mortgages whether you’re a first time buyer or looking to remortgage your existing property.

Go social go smart go with technology for your business

Sketches – $1.99

A picture isn’t always worth a thousand words. In fact, there are times when a picture may leave the person even more confused. With Sketches, you can take a photo and then draw on it to convey information to your clients. For example, you might use arrows to point out certain features or write down the distance between two properties. Either way, this is a great app to have.

Around Me – Free

Being able to give your clients instant information is essential. With this app you can quickly tell clients about the restaurants, banks, grocery stores and other shops in the area. This can make it much easier for a client to make a decision.

Evernote – Free

Think of this as your go-to app. This app makes it easy to keep notes using text, pictures and recordings. Imagine being able to flow through a gallery of pictures with your client and being able to tell them everything about the property by looking at the keywords you wrote on the picture.

Walk Score – Free

People in big cities want to be able to walk to everything. This app will give you the ability to tell customers exactly how far the nearest restaurants, grocery stores and other buildings are from the home. Best of all, the built-in GPS means you’ll never have to type the address in to get results.

Real Estate by Smarter Agent – Free

One of the biggest factors in making a contract is knowing what comparables are selling for or what sellers are currently asking. Being able to access this information immediately is priceless. You’ll never believe how fast the contract can be drawn up once you download this app.

There are a number of apps that make the life of a real estate agent much easier. Whether it’s an app that tells you how much a comparable property is or how far the nearest restaurant is, these are all apps that will come in handy.

About the Author: Willene McGlawn loves incorporating business and technology. She enjoys using many of these apps and also recommends accessing sites like Tenant Hunter from your mobile phone as well. Buyers, sellers, and agents all stand to benefit from technological advances.

Real estate apps becoming vital tools in the realtor arsenal! © Suriko - Fotolia.com

But what if you’re one of those people who hates text messaging? You may be outnumbered, but now iPhone and Android users have a sweet little application, which just may bring “non-texters” and “texters” together. TalkBoxApp is a text messaging application perfectly suited for people that don’t like text messaging.

1. A free application, TalkBoxApp allows users to leave a short, 1 minute voice message that displays as a text message on the recipient’s phone. Realtors are often on the go, and they don’t always have the time to send a text message, but with TalkBoxApp they can leave a quick message and get back to what they were doing. For example, if a realtor is showing a house she can let her broker know she’s got an interested buyer, and then get back to discussing the details with her client without missing a beat. Users can even send their exact location with this app so there’s no question which house is being discussed.
2. AroundMe is a GPS type of application that lets the searcher find out what kind of amenities are near a particular location. A realtor can easily determine the best features of the neighborhood to add valuable content to her listings.
3. Calculators are a realtor’s best friend, but add complex calculations to the basic functions of a calculator, and you’ve got a new best friend you won’t want to give up! Consistently rated among the top 10 apps in finance,  MyOwnLoan will calculate monthly mortgage payments, effects of rate changes over the life of the loan, number of payments remaining and important information to help borrowers determine which loan suits them best. A realtor can use this information to get a “ball park” estimate of the seller’s loan information until she receives hard data from the mortgage company.

Realtors who take advantage of the numerous technological devices and applications designed to make their lives easier have a distinct advantage over those professionals who may not realize how these applications can add value to their services.

Realtor.com iPad app screenshots

The iPad app is only the next in a long line of Realtor.com mobile apps, which includes apps for the iPhone, Android phones, and Windows Phone 7.   In total, Realtor.com’s mobile apps have received 3.6 million downloads, increasing users by 79 percent in four months.

Among the the features of the iPad app are:

• Area Highlighter – a quick tool to draw your own boundaries for searching   It features slide, pinch, zoom, and pan controls, with the ability to zoom into a specific neighborhood or street.
• Rate properties; save personal notes on specific homes; share property information with agents; “My Real Estate” button features instant access to listings, saved and recent searches.
• Stay connected with agents; share properties through Twitter, email, and Facebook; send notes, ratings, and comments.

“With a Realtor.com mobile app, there’s no waiting or wondering anymore if a property is on or off the market, how much it costs, or if it will fit your needs,” said Steve Berkowitz, chief executive officer of Move, Inc., operator of Realtor.com.

Move Inc. simultaneously announced the release of Realtor.com 2.0 iPhone App, which provides key updates to the iPhone version, adding new home screen features, Area Highlighter, and Area Scout, among other improvements.

Move Inc. is an online real estate company serving 14.5 million monthly visitors on Move.com, Realtor.com, Moving.com, SeniorHousing.Net, and others.

Realtor.com is the official website for the National Association of Realtors and also functions as an online real estate marketplace with over four million property listings.  80 percent of property listings are updated every 15 minutes.  You can download the app today from realtor.com.

We City iPhone/iPod Touch screenshot

The buildings will carry the Century 21 brand and will consist of a free house, office, and skyscraper.  Gamers can also add a Century 21 office to their city to complete the product placement.   And that is the whole point, to reach out to the younger tech-oriented generation with their advertising.  In order to get their virtual buildings, office, and agents in the game, Century 21 forked over an undisclosed amount to ngmoco, the Japanese company that developed the game.

Reminiscent of Sim City and other virtual simulations that give users power over the fates of cities, railroads, theme parks, people, and more, the developers of We City say they have found a way to keep gamers playing for hours.  They spend their time building the perfect cities, spending virtual money, and taking care of the usual aesthetics that go along with such games, all of which is great for Century 21 and its virtual prime real estate.

We City iPad screenshot

In addition to the strategy, We City also has multiplayer elements that allow the players to explore each other’s cities and share their creations.  With over 100 unique buildings and a variety of citizen types you can attract, the Century 21 in-game ad is sure to blend right in with the rest of the virtual world.

The new home automation system unveiled by Cullum Homes. Image courtesy of Martalwalsh.com

Lucky owners of the two new luxury homes in the Village at Paradise Reserve by property developer Cullum Homes will be able to enjoy the features of a dynamic home automation system that will provide them with the ultimate in modern comfort.

The Apple OS X-based system, which was developed as a result of collaboration between Cullum Homes and CyberSound, a well known provider of home automation systems, will be operated by a series of iPad, iPhone and iPod devices, as well as devices built into the walls of the homes.

Control your home through your iPad. Image courtesy of elitechoice

Residents will be able to control a number of technological features in the home at the click of a button, wherever they are in the building. The automation system will allow users to operate internet activity, lighting, climate control, home theater and audio systems, home security features and even motorized window shades.

According to Cullum Homes the new technology, which utilizes both software and hardware from one main source, will be able to reduce the running costs of each home considerably.

The Village at Paradise Reserve. Image courtesy of phxre.com

And because the system uses existing Apple devices for control, installation costs associated with the automation system are considerably less than other systems around, costing just $3,800 per home.

Jon Summer, president of CyberSound, said that the high-end automation system offers more “user-friendliness” than that of other, less advanced systems, while being considerably cheaper to boot.

Also included is a Jones Lang LaSalle news section, JLL twitter feed, videos of “hot industry topics”, customized views by country, a locator for JLL people, locations, and services, and a feed from the Jone’s Lang LaSalle’s Green Blog.  Future plans include offering the app in every language where JLL does business.

“Now our employees, clients and others looking for leading-edge research and expertise on commercial real estate markets—or who need to find a Jones Lang LaSalle professional in their market—can get what they’re looking for in seconds, whether they are in the office or on the go,” said David Johnson, Chief Information Officer, Jones Lang LaSalle. “There are other commercial real estate apps, but nothing that provides the same scope and quality of information that ours offers.”

Users can search or browse through the research by region of interest for topics like “The Evolving Global Landscape”, “The Residential Index -March 2011″, and “Asia Pacific Property Digest – 4Q 2010″.  The locator includes a map, along with addresses, phone numbers, and a people finder.

The app seems to be geared toward providing education about real estate rather than simply pushing JLL’s commercial interests, and that will undoubtedly help the company’s image in the long run.

Jones Lang LaSalle owns, occupies, or invests in real estate for worldwide clients in 60 countries at over 2,000 locations.  It has a global revenue of over $2.9 billion, which includes a portfolio of 1.8 billion square feet of real estate.   Its iPhone/iPad is only its latest attempt to reach out to customers through technological channels.  It also has a presence on LinkedIn, Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter.