Inman

CAR offers free iPhone app

The California Association of Realtors has developed an iPhone application that’s now available for free download to members at the Apple iTunes store.

CAR — which is also offering versions of the application for BlackBerry and other Web-enabled smart phones — claims to be the first Realtor association in the country to offer an iPhone app.

But the group says it will allow the scalable, data-driven application to be licensed and branded by other local and state real estate associations.

The "My CAR" iPhone app provides market data for 21 regions in California, current loan information, highlights from a "Market Matters" newsletter, and other association resources. The application can also search for license renewal and continuing education courses, and receive "hot item" news alerts.

CAR said an extension of the WINForms/ZipForm software for the iPhone is in development.

To download the app from the iTunes store, members can search for the keywords "My CAR" in the applications section.

The access code required to use all of the application’s features can be obtained from the CAR Web site, at www.car.org/tools/mycar. The access code is entered in the "REALTOR ID" field in the application’s user profile page.

Custom-built software applications for the iPhone and other Web-enabled smart phones have become increasingly popular in the real estate industry, in part because of the ease of developing and distributing them to users (see story).

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