The logistics of home showings can sometimes be complicated. That’s why ShowingTime is rolling out an instant messaging feature that the company hopes will help its 700,000 agent subscribers be more efficient.
ShowingTime is a Chicago-based showing management technology company. The firm’s new, free feature allows showing and listing agents to chat with each other in real time, either from their mobile devices or their desktop computers.
Michael Lane
“Showing agents sometimes have questions related to the showing when they are at the property or on the way to the property,” ShowingTime President Michael Lane told Inman in an email.
“They range from questions that they might have about how to access the property to questions the buyer might have as they walk through the home. Examples: ‘Will the chandelier stay or go?’ ‘I can’t find the lock box.’ ‘What sort of closing timeframe can your seller accommodate?'”
To take advantage of the feature, agents must belong to one of the 109 MLSs nationwide that offer ShowingTime for the MLS. They can communicate directly with the homeowner if the listing agent chooses.
“The buyer’s agents sometimes want to have a convenient tool to notify everyone that they are running 5, 10, 15 mins late (or early) without totally rescheduling the showing, or that they decided not to show a listing, or that they are done with the showing,” Lane said.
“Sellers will be able to receive one-way courtesy notifications so that they know what is happening, while they are around the corner getting coffee or whatever.”
ShowingTime recently acquired real estate market analytics firm 10K Research and Marketing and former ShowingTime rival BookAShowing.com. At the time, ShowingTime said it would use 10K to introduce supply and demand statistical reports to help real estate agents and brokers do their jobs better.
ShowingTime will begin integrating its showing data into 10K’s market reports over the next 90 days, the company announced today.
“The reports we’re rolling out will combine showing activity with sales and inventory data that will display never-seen-before statistical information that will help real estate professionals gain a much better understanding of the local market,” Lane said in a statement.
“Our intention is to give customers an even greater ability to offer exceptional service and market knowledge to their clients.”
ShowingTime has added five more MLS-wide accounts in the past 60 days, adding another 61,000 subscribing agents to its customer base, the company said.
