Canadian Real Estate Association Introduces Hand Held House-Hunting with New Mobile Application
The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) unveiled its latest home buying and selling innovation, a new mobile application of REALTOR.ca for Windows® Phone 7. REALTOR.ca is operated by CREA, and is the most visited real estate website in Canada, with about 350 000 property listings available at any one time. “Allowing people to check out houses whenever they want, wherever they want, will make the home and property hunt that much easier,” said CREA President Georges Pahud. “Today’s consumers want portable, on-the-go information and REALTORS® across Canada are happy to be able to meet this need with the new REALTOR.ca app.” The REALTOR.ca app provides house hunters with the functionality of REALTOR.ca while taking advantage of Windows Phone 7 device features such as GPS. The app allows users to search for houses and properties across Canada and to connect with REALTORS® to view, buy or sell a property. Photos, newly listed properties and open house information are all available. Using the handheld’s GPS technology, and the REALTOR.ca search function, users can search for properties near their location and get driving directions too. Interactive BING mapping is embedded to allow consumers to focus on specific neighbourhoods. “Buying a home is often the biggest financial transaction of one’s lifetime. Easily accessible, detailed information about homes and neighbourhoods, as well as fingertip access to the expertise of REALTORS®, helps people make well-informed decisions” said Pahud. The REALTOR.ca app was developed through a partnership with Microsoft Canada Inc. and Navantis. The REALTOR.ca app will be available for other handheld devices in the coming weeks. Plans are currently underway for iPhone and BlackBerry versions. The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) is one of Canada’s largest single-industry trade Associations, representing more than 100,000 REALTORS® working through more than 100 real estate Boards and Associations. PDF version
-30-For more information, please contact: Linda Kristal, Director, Communications The Canadian Real Estate Association P: 613-237-7111 or 613-447-4532 E: lkristal@crea.ca