Inman

SmartZip mobile app identifies prospective sellers for real estate agents

Screen shot of SmartZip SmartTargeting app

A venture capital-backed firm has rolled out what it says is the first mobile application to provide real estate agents with insights on each home and homeowner in their prospecting area, including how likely homeowners are to sell their home.

Pleasanton, Calif.-based SmartZip Analytics Inc. first launched its SmartTargeting predictive marketing platform in the summer of 2010 with the aim of identifying potential home sellers for agents and brokers by analyzing more than 250 home, neighborhood, owner and loan attributes and trends.

That includes historical and current home sale trends, property characteristics, current and historical market values, ownership history, neighborhood and household demographics, life and market triggers, and loan and lender data, among other factors.

Today, the company announced the debut of a mobile app, available on Apple iOS devices, for on-the-go access to a SmartZip SmartTargeting account. An Android version of the app is in the works.

“The SmartTargeting app is another powerful extension towards our vision of ‘high-tech farming,’ ” said Rajeev Kalavar, vice president of products at SmartZip, in a statement.

“Imagine meeting someone at an open house or local coffee shop, and knowing in advance that they have a high propensity to sell, and have been in their home for six years and are no longer underwater. Armed with these insights, the agent can foster the ‘right’ conversation, and build instant rapport with prospects. That is the power of big data and analytics at your fingertips.”

The app allows brokers and agents to find homes that match certain criteria — number of bedrooms, for instance — and predicted to have the highest likelihood of selling. Real estate pros can also receive lead notifications, bookmark properties and contacts, add their own notes and photos for any property, and adjust SmartZip’s home valuations for any home in their territory.

“This new app gives us tremendous advantage on the road. Whether we are out prospecting in our territory, or with clients who want to view and adjust their online home values, we can now access SmartTargeting data insights right from our iPhone or iPad,” said Dan Keller of Orange County, Calif.-based Keller Williams OC Coastal Realty in a statement.

In August, SmartZip updated its platform to allow homeowners to request changes to their SmartZip home valuations through real estate professionals that are also SmartZip subscribers. SmartZip’s home valuations appear on a variety of syndication websites, including realtor.com and foreclosure.com.

SmartZip is backed by Intel Capital, Claremont Creek Ventures and Javelin Venture Partners. The company says third-quarter revenue was up by more than 250 percent from a year ago.