MARKETING Come on, get Appy Agents have been quick to bag their own App to meet consumer demand. L
atest figures (March 2011) from the comms giant Apple show that they have sold over 100 million iPhones and 15 million iPads across the world. Both products were the gift of choice for many of us last Christmas
but, more importantly, iPhones and iPads are now firmly entrenched in forward thinking agencies as a business tool. A recent report by Google predicts that over 50 per cent of property searches will take place at some point on mobile devices which offer access to the latest technology, connecting with a rapidly growing smartphone generation, whose lifestyles, literally, depend on their phones. The devotees of iPhone and iPad can rarely be seen without the sleek magical boxes and every friend, work contact, business service and, quite possibly, psychiatrist, is embedded in their contacts list. The natural extension of iPhone and iPad
usage has been for businesses to produce special Applications, or, more colloquially, Apps, a mobile compatible version of their website, providing simpler, speedier access to a host of information. It would be rude to ignore the fact that Apps are also now available for Android phones, but Apple gear is still the most desirable tool/toy. The Apple App Store is the sweet shop
for App freaks, who download Apps to suit their needs, for lifestyle or business, paid for or free. There are now several hundred UK property Apps for iPhone and a steadily growing choice for the iPad as well, all the ones we found are free to download. So which agencies have been pioneering
them and how can you get your own App? Director of
Barton Wyatt, James Wyatt, in Surrey is a fully paid up subscriber to the world of Apple, with a sparkling iPad App which beautifully displays his super- luxury Virginia Water mansions.
Barton Wyatt, an early devotee of the Apple Apps!
Barton Wyatt also has Apps for iPhone and Android, with a Blackberry version about to be ripe for picking. James is urging estate agents to join the mobile revolution. “We have to recognise that the way people access information, and particularly property information, is changing. Some of the large estate agents have already bought out Apps and even my own small firm, Barton Wyatt has its own App for various mobile devices. “I can’t tell you what a godsend the Apps
have been for us. With so many international buyers, the mobile access is just brilliant. In the office as well, we are now using iPads to show potential buyers around our properties, no more bits of paper for us!”
‘With so many international buyers the mobile access is just
brilliant and we use them in the office as well.’ JAMES WYATT DIRECTOR, BARTON WYATT
Above: Atkinson
Keene iPad App is crisp and clear.
Below: Hamptons slick and smart.
Hamptons was the first residential agent
to launch an iPhone App in 2010 and they then stole another march on competitors by being the first to launch an iPad App. Both are slick, smart and easy to use. One highlight is a nifty choice of currencies that you can view for the properties, reflecting the agency’s global outlook. A smart flat in Hove sounds quite reasonable at £280,000 – however, if you want to buy it in Indian Rupees it will set you back 20,533,844! Savills iPad App truly fulfils any need for
timewasting (most of us, anyway) perusal of multi million pound homes; an endless choice of homes across the UK. Not so many tools either as Hamptons, so we just had to guess how many Rupees we’d need to buy the swish mansion in SW3 priced at £18.75million.
PROPERTYdrum JUNE 2011 29
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