Inman

Placester launches dirt-cheap broker website, marketing platform

Placester, a provider of  affordable Internet data exchange (IDX) listing search sites for real estate agents, has broadened its offering by launching a broker platform that lets companies monitor incoming leads and manage all of their team’s websites from a branded master dashboard.

Last month Placester announced a partnership with the National Association of Realtors to provide Realtors with IDX websites for just $5 a month.

The new broker website and marketing platform expands on Placesters’ partnership with NAR, by providing access to NAR member brokers for $3.75 a month, per site. Rates for non-NAR member brokers start at $5 per site, with volume pricing available for large firms.

Placester’s agent websites provide IDX search, mobile-friendly responsive design, lead capture and blogging capabilities.  The new broker product adds websites for offices, and the ability to manage all of a team’s sites from one master broker dashboard that can be branded with the company’s logo.

Brokers can also track the origins of leads coming in to agent sites, and monitor leads on their office sites to make sure agents are following up on them.

More lead management tools will be arriving in the coming months, Placester CEO Matt Barba said. Barba hinted that the tools will allow agents to proactively mine for prospects, instead of waiting for buyers and sellers to come to them.

Boston-based Placester’s partnership with NAR was news because it enabled agents to have their own IDX listing search site at half the cost of Zillow’s agent websites — one of the most affordable options on the market. Placester says it supports IDX in more than 600 markets.

Other providers of agent websites with IDX integration include Curaytor, Diverse Solutions, IDX Broker, Real Estate Webmasters, iHomeFinder, Showcase IDX, IDX Pro and WolfNet.