Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC has rolled out a custom-built smartphone application the company claims is the first to provide access to international properties.
Coldwell Banker’s mobile app — available for the iPhone and smartphones running Google’s Android operating system — provides access to property listings and recent home sales in 28 countries in North America, Europe, Central America, the Caribbean, South America and Australia, the company said.
In October, Coldwell Banker announced that its Web site was optimized for mobile devices, and this mobile-optimized site has since been accessed by about 200,000 users.
The new mobile app, developed by Bootstrap Software for Coldwell Banker, enables GPS-based searches for nearby homes, open houses and recent sales.
Search results can be viewed in list form or on maps, and recent sales can be sorted by location, price and sale date. Detailed property listings include images and the ability to direct-dial or e-mail Coldwell Banker listing agents. Searches that are saved to the user’s account will automatically generate notifications of new properties and open houses, providing alerts on the device’s homepage.
Custom-built software applications for the iPhone and other Internet-capable “smartphones” have become widely embraced by the real estate industry. Zillow, Trulia and the California Association of Realtors are among those offering mobile applications. Companies that provide mobile applications for brokers and agents include Move Inc., Smarter Agent, QWASI and Kurio.