This just in:

LOS ANGELES, Nov. 7 /PRNewswire/ — Staying on top of the real estate market is easy and fun when using one of today’s most popular and consumer-friendly platforms, the Apple iPhone.

Starting today, iPhone users now have the power of REALTOR.com at their finger tips. Whether searching for homes nearby or looking for listings in a particular neighborhood, iPhone users now have instant access to all details, including photos and contact information for the listing agent, with REALTOR.com for the iPhone.

“We’re committed to enhancing the experience consumers have when they’re searching for real estate on REALTOR.com,” said Joe DeTuno, senior vice president, product management. “Our new search capabilities for the iPhone are relevant enhancements that give consumers the full power of mobility and immediate access to REALTOR.com in a manner that fits naturally into their everyday lifestyle.”

Industry experts(1) predict consumers will purchase approximately 3.4 million iPhones this year, with an estimated 45 million units sold by the year 2009, making the iPhone potentially one of the most popular hand held devices used to search online for real estate.

A leader in wireless real estate search, REALTOR.com also enables consumers search capabilities through their REALTOR.com Mobile application on cell phones and PDA devices running Windows Mobile 5.0, including HP hw6965, HP hw6925, Palm Treo 700w (or Palm Treo 700wx), AT&T 8525, Cingular 8125, O2 Xda Stealth and Audiovox XV6700.

iPhone users can access listings at http://iphone.realtor.com/ using the browser on the phone for immediate access to REALTOR.com. This URL is provided exclusively for iPhone users.

Exciting, to say the least! I personally did not see this coming at all, but I’m very pleased to hear this news for a number of pretty obvious reasons. Realtor.com is extending itself to embrace emerging technologies, and the implications of this move are nothing short of mind-blowing for us technology buffs. And even though they do not specifically address how and when they will open the gates on posting video tours to the new iPhone portal, we can only assume that it’s on the way. Wow!

Can you imagine the potential here? We here at AgentCasts know that posting videos along with these Realtor.com iPhone site listings is only a simple embed code away, and we’ve been preparing our real estate video content to be iPhone compatible for over 2 months now. Realtor.com - we’re ready when you are!

Technorati: real estate news, realtor.com, realtor, iphone, iphone real estate, iphone video tours, real estate video, real estate marketing, real estate video tours

REALTOR® Magazine, published by the National Associations of Realtors® has just published another article aimed at informing property sellers about the benefits of using video for their listings. The article, entitled "SELLING: Video" can be read in full here . Below are some highlights:

Devitre, CRS®, e-PRO®, is one of a growing number of salespeople using video to build their brand. Jim Pasala, with Coldwell Banker Previews International, and Amber Downey, with Surterre Properties, both in Newport Beach, Calif., use similar technology on their Web sites, www.PasalaGroup.com and www.amberdowney.com. The two often team up to sell luxury homes, and in addition to displaying video of themselves on their personal sites, they’ve created Web sites, such as www.lagunabeachretreat.com, to spotlight some of their listings. There they show their personal video as well as streaming video of the property’s features. Professional voice talent explains each image the viewer sees.

“The strength of video is that it has sight, sound, and motion,” says Greg Herder, CEO of Hobbs Herder Advertising in Newport Beach, Calif. “TV is such a powerful medium because it creates a much stronger emotional punch than any other form of marketing. Whether you’re talking about kids in Africa or about homes as a salesperson, you can make a much stronger case through video.”

Video helps you build your brand in several ways, the most important by showing consumers you’re ahead of the curve, a point Pasala stresses in listing presentations. Video also helps you differentiate your brand. “Nobody [else] in my market does video, and it’s something people remember you by,” says Devitre. “Word of mouth spreads like wildfire, especially when something’s different or cutting-edge. The word of mouth on my video has been through the roof.”

He says he gets at least one lead each day from serious buyers visiting his Web site. Although he can’t concretely attribute that steady source of qualified leads to the video, he says, “people tell me they love it.”

“We’re probably up 40 to 50 transactions each year since we started using video three years ago,” she says.

The article does a good job of delivering the benefits of using video for agents and sellers, and it’s one of many recent postings from the NAR® on this currently ‘buzzing’ topic. This almost makes us wonder if they may have something brewing in the ‘video’ pipeline. Either way, we love the attention they are working to generate, as awareness on this topic is something we’ve been pushing ourselves feverishly to spread these days. Thanks Realtor® Magazine!

Technorati: real estate, real estate video, real estate news, real estate marketing, real estate podcasting, realtor, NAR, article, video home tours, online video