New app for us iPhonies (and Webbies, too)

Anybody done mortgage rate comparisons at RateSupermarket.ca?  What did you think?

We haven't been serious viewers/users of the site but it reads as a fairly neutral place to get an idea of current comparable real mortgage rates.  I quite like how straight forward they are about their independence and how they make money (see the "About Us" tab on their site).

How do they make money? Advertising and referrals.  The advertising is clearly identified as such.  And the referrals come only if you ask.

I looked at them a little more closely today because they announced an iPhone app connected to their service.  It seems pretty straight forward.  You could be looking at a home and start to feel that "what if I bought this" tingle.  Out comes the app and tells you who wants what rate today for whatever type and term you ask about.  It also has a mortgage calculator to check the actual payments.  Could be handy.  You don't have to actually talk to anybody or give out your information to anybody to get a solid idea of what would be involved mortgage-wise. 

All that said, if you know you are house-hunting you should get pre-approved.  Find a good mortgage broker (we know several) and go through the process.  You will know what you can afford, you can lock in a rate, and you will be stronger at the negotiation table.  It's all good.

If you're interested in real-estate related apps, you might want to have a peek at a series of earlier posts on the subject: Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3

App – ropriate. Part 3: Zoocasa, Zillow and others.

This series of posts concerns what I think I know about smartphone apps and their kin as it relates to real estate.  We had a go at the new CIBC app in part 1, and looked at the mobile version of realtor.ca in part2.

Zoocasa, Zillow and others are websites with accompanying mobile apps that are supposed to represent the future for access to real estate information.

Maybe they do, but they aren’t there yet. 

Zoocasa is supposedly backed by Rogers and committed to developing its content and presence over the long haul.  We, and quite a few other agents in our community, have committed to a presence with them.  (Translated: they can include our listings and our advertising appears on the site).

In our case, we weren’t expecting them to “take off” instantly.  But given their apparent level of commitment and sophistication they seemed to have the best chance.  And we liked “being there” with the ad presence if and when take-off happened.

Advertising and promotion OF Zoocasa has disappointed us somewhat.  As a result we are not sensing that many people are using the site.  Are you?  If you are, tell us about it.

Again, the site and the app will map an area you select and “pin” listings in the area.  You can then call up the details for any listing – photos, room info, listing agent, etc.

App – ropriate. Part 2: Realtor.ca

Triggered by a new real estate/mortgage app for your iPhone/Blackberry and an article about real estate and mobile apps, we began a little review of a few of them, starting yesterday with the new CIBC product.  If you missed it, scan down the blog or go HERE.

Today we have a peek at the mobile coulsin of Realtor.ca -- the website familiar to many.  It’s the official public site for the MLS® system.  There is an iPhone app and a WindowsPhone7 app by the same name, with Blackberry en route.

The iPhone app reviews are pretty uniformly negative.  People like the idea but find the app buggy.  I think they are being a little harsh.

App - ropriate?

Real estate apps (and more) for your smartphones.

An ad ran in the Globe this week for a real-estate app for the iPhone and Blackberry. The next day there was an article titled “Bungalow hunting? There’s an app for that”.

They mention a couple of mobile apps and suggest more are coming. They are probably right. So we’re going to give you our take on a few that we have seen.

Let’s start with the new kid. The CIBC product is called CIBC Home Advisor.