W&R Studios, maker of the popular comparative market analysis tool Cloud CMA, has launched a new tool that allows agents and brokers to set up and brand multiple listing service listing alerts for their clients.
Cloud Streams, which is currently active only in the largest MLS in the U.S., California Regional MLS, also allows clients to share their listing alerts with other users and make comments on specific listings.
“We want to make agents look awesome in front of their clients,” said Greg Robertson, co-founder of W&R Studios. Cloud Streams does that, he said, by providing listing alerts — something many MLSs provide in what Robertson called an unflattering design — in a photo-rich and mobile-responsive way.
Brokers, agents and MLS service providers can license the product, which is designed to work well on iPad, iPhone and desktop computers.
By setting up a listing alert with search criteria like ZIP code, list price, bed and bath count, and other typical search filters, agents ensure that their clients get a branded email with a link to the Cloud Streams Web app, which is also branded to the agent, whenever a new home matching the search criteria hits the MLS. Agents can choose to have clients notified in real time, daily or weekly.
In addition, agents can set up text alerts for clients who agree to the service to receive listing alerts in real time.
Part of the impetus to develop the new app, Robertson said, was to help agents give consumers a listing alerts tool that matches the sleek style and design of those offered by portals like Zillow and Trulia. Cloud Streams allows them to offer a similar tool tied to better data and branded to the agent, he said.
Robertson expects to grow the number of MLSs that Cloud Streams pulls data from in the coming months.
Currently, Cloud CMA serves close to 95,000 agents by pulling data from more than 240 MLSs, but since Cloud Streams is a different product, W&R Studios must negotiate separate feed agreements with each MLS that may work with Cloud Streams, he said.