Prudential Real Estate and Relocation Services has launched a collaborative, virtual research and development laboratory dubbed PRECIPT, the Prudential Real Estate Collaborative Innovation Partnership.

The non-traditional lab is a combination of three facets: innovation, research and development, and collaboration between IT experts and real estate professionals. This virtual lab will focus on four areas: video gaming and sensory spaces, social networking and media sharing, mobile computing, and the application of semantic Web search engines research.

Prudential is partnering with virtual world developer Immersive Design Studio to create one of its top priorities, an immersive virtual tour.

"This is actually 'Avatar' meets real estate. We demonstrated ... how (two people) could both be in different rooms at opposite ends of the country and be holographically next to each other. Buyers can start to experience homes and what they would do with (a home) even before they actually see it," chairman and CEO Jim Mallozzi said.

In addition, the Prudential Real Estate Network is unveiling other tools and resources: a media center to help real estate professionals create listings presentations quickly and easily from one spot, a rent-to-own calculator for consumers, upgrades to the company's proprietary Online Seller Advantage(SM) customer-contact platform, including direct interface with more than 200 social media sites, and their mobile solution, PruRE.com.

Read more from Inman News or in the press release.

Posted in Technology And You, Marketing, Online Education

In this video from WRTV-ABC's Channel 6 broadcast news, learn some handy tips that won't break your budget to sell a home. Curbside appeal is #1 in attracting the customer, while upgrades and renovations in the kitchen and bathrooms will help seal the deal once a buyer's inside.

View the original clip on Clip Syndicate.

Posted in Education And Training, Marketing, Seller Resources

Metro Brokers Exclusive is a branded sector of Metro Brokers, Inc. that showcases premier homes valued at $500,000 and above. This identity program will mark all homes meeting the criteria with new signage to distinguish the category, while streamlining homebuyers and sellers suited to this value category. Additionally, there is a Web site to list and market homes in this upper-end price division at www.metrobrokersexclusive.com.

"Metro Brokers Exclusive is an incredibly efficient tool for our brokers to distinguish their properties and to recruit new members who solely represent high-end homes," said Mark Eibner, member of the Metro Brokers Trademark Committee and broker/owner of Realty Oasis. "Potential homebuyers will come to recognize the Metro Brokers Exclusive brand as a mark of premium value for homes up front, and will benefit from the ease of accessing listings suited to the category through our dedicated Web site."

The Metro Brokers Exclusive identity is the first major variance from the Metro Brokers signature red and yellow sign in the association's 30-year history. The newly designed logo speaks directly to the upper-end housing market and will feature a maroon and gold Metro Brokers Exclusive logo on a white background. The look is recognizably different, yet maintains its association with Metro Brokers.

MetroBrokersExclusive.com will offer a portal for homebuyers to access these premier listings, and other online features include access to available Metro Brokers REALTORS® participating in the program, and the capability for buyers to schedule a showing, contact brokers, save specific homes in their online portfolio, and print brochures from listings of interest. The Web site will also serve as a database for brokers, providing access to upload images and maintain their own property data including their background, contact information and all listings.

Visit www.metrobrokersexclusive.com or call Mark Eibner at 303-268-6000 for more information.

Posted in Marketing, Exclusive Collection, MBI News, Buyer Resources, Seller Resources

What is strategy and how can one strategize to compete in the real estate industry?

Real estate can be a fierce business and determining a sustainable competitive advantage for some can be difficult.

Inman News columnist Robert Hahn offers some piercing insight that shifts perspective about strategizing competitively. He first dissects the general strategies of competition and competition in real estate, offering concrete examples and thoughtful analysis.

"I struggled with this issue for years, until I shifted my thinking a wee bit. I've been looking at things from the consumer's point of view and from the Realtor's point of view. Turns out, the proper point of view is that of the brokerage," he writes. In looking at the entire brokerage, the competitve advantage lies within the entire system of the brokerage.

Read Hahn's column here.

Posted in Education And Training, Marketing

Real estate technology company Roost has launched a free beta version of its new Facebook application, Social Real Estate℠.

With the app, real estate agents and brokers can now place a "Real Estate" tab on their Facebook page that displays city-specific housing from Altos Research, school information from Education.com and walkability data from Walk Score™.

In coming months, the full version of the app will be released and will include MLS, plus lead generation and drip marketing tools for agents and brokers.

"Facebook has passed 400 million users and is arguably second only to Google in mass consumer engagement, but most real estate brokers and agents struggle to use the platform effectively. Our application solves that problem by delivering content consumers want and engagement tools real estate agents need within Facebook itself," said Alex Chang, CEO of Roost.

Read more in the press release from Roost.com.

photo credit: CoreyHarris

Posted in Technology And You, Marketing, Online Education