There’s an app for just about everything, including apps for agents. How many real estate apps do you have on your phone, and which do you use the most?

2010 Agents’ Choice Awards

Akos Straub – straubhomes.com
Akos Straub is the president of the Straub Group at Jameson Real Estate. The Straub Group services a wide range of clients including private individuals, developers and
institutions. They specialize in the sales of new developments, condominiums and single-family luxury homes in Chicago. The Straub Group is a diversified real estate corporation with consulting, marketing, REO, short sales and new development divisions. Straub has consistently been recognized as one of the top producers at Jameson Real Estate.
Straub strives to excel as a leader in Chicago …

By Casey Reagan
Mobile – the New Frontier
At the beginning of the last decade, we experienced a dramatic increase in consumers utilizing the Internet for property searches. The numbers went from nearly no one to almost everyone (90 percent) in the span of just a few years. With the beginning of this new decade, we are witnessing a rapid increase of mobile devices being used as the initial access point for the Internet. In the next few years, mobile devices will likely contribute an equal or greater share of Internet traffic …

Agents often ask us for tips on what they can do to improve their websites without breaking the bank. We asked Chad Gardner, CA’s marketing coordinator who also developed the new ChicagoAgentMagazine.com website, to answer a few of the common questions we’ve come across.

Q: Are there ways that the independent Realtor with a limited marketing budget can get the same breadth of exposure that large corporate real estate companies get?
A: Fortunately, there are many cost-effective resources online that can be utilized to broaden exposure. The key is to remember …

By Casey Reagan
Where We Are Today
Examining the future role that the Internet and technology will play in the real estate world requires understanding of the impact the Internet has already made on the industry.
We primarily see two effects from the Internet:
1. A refocusing on customer service. The Internet has provided consumers with direct access to more and more data, resulting in clients taking an increasingly active role in the process. The net result is elevated expectations of customer service from agents. This holds true both online and offline.
2. Dramatic changes …

I remember my first year of college many many years ago when I had a big fat desktop that took up almost my entire desk. This was just when the Internet and websites were becoming popular amongst the common folks (yes, I am that old), and I created my own little page using fancy codes and other information I managed to dig up. In the end, I had a static page with a photo of myself and some rudimentary other details and colors. I was impressed with my work, and …

Creating a great website that focuses on consumers — and generates leads — takes not only time and effort, but also an understanding of one’s target audience and their needs. Overall, a great Realtor website will let potential buyers and sellers know what the agent can do for them.
By Meghan Boyer
The Internet has become an integral business tool that can attract clients and market services 24/7 for agents. Not all websites are equally effective, however, and there are steps Realtors can take to improve their sites’ visibility and traffic.

By Nicole Nicolay
Recently, I was invited to take part in a top-secret Twitter mission. I received a request from JulieTweets to arrive at a red door in San Francisco by 12:30 sharp. Thanks to GPS (asking the parking attendant), I found it promptly. Anyway, once I arrived I was greeted by one cool cat and three hot babes with cupcakes. I was in for sure now. The hot babes (savvy production crew) proceeded to set me up for a video interview.
Turns out I wasn’t the only top-secret Twit invited to …

By Nicole Nicolay
Whether you’re a rookie getting your start in the industry, or an expert hoping to boost your already prospering success, tweaking your blog is a process that should continue throughout its life on the Web. Let’s look at the internal factors affecting your blog success, as well as support tools.
Speak to your target audience
I hope that identifying your target audience already occurred for you during the conceptualization of your blog. Now that you’re up and running, is your blog geared to attract new niche readers? By that I …

By Steve Adams
One of the fun things about watching old movies, more than 10 years old to be precise, is seeing how the world has changed since the movie premiered. When Beetlejuice runs his TV ad in the movie of the same name, he flashes an “800” number, but there’s no mention of a Web site as there would be today. In 1975’s “Three Days of the Condor,” there isn’t a desktop computer in sight – despite the fact that Robert Redford works for the tech-savvy CIA. In black and …