The team at Rochester, MN-based DoApp just announced their new iKenex real estate platform built in collaboration with California MLS software firm Concentric Mobile. iKenex brings all the real estate data a realtor or buyer would ever need to their preferred mobile smartphone device, whether it is an iPhone, iPad, Android or Blackberry. Taking advantage of the mobile device’s built-in Global Positioning Satellite (GPS) technology, the iKenex app pinpoints where you are and delivers a home’s complete listing details in seconds.
This sort of innovation is sorely needed in the real estate marketplace today primarily due to the collapse that has occurred in the housing market. With its capability to make the process of selling and buying a home considerably more efficient for both buyers and real estate agents, iKenex promises to remove much of the typical lag time for realtors to communicate to buyers about properties or for buyers to wait around for a real estate agent to call or email when you’re on the hunt for that perfect home.
What might not be obvious from looking at the features of iKenex is this: DoApp and Concentric Mobile have done a remarkable job of creating a platform adept at aligning incentives in the residential real estate marketplace and making the process of communicating with buyers fast and easy.
Of course, the key to any platform is to provide an on-ramp to a market or technology which savvy businesspeople and developers can leverage. My impression of the iKenex platform is that it strongly aligns with the incentives of local, regional, state or even national companies that want to participate in the mobile/GPS real estate app space, but clearly can’t “play” with providers like Zillow and maybe couldn’t obtain decent ROI by building their own app. In addition, a realtor’s incentives seem obviously aligned with iKenex and how they could easily leverage what’s happening with their local listings and the areas in which they sell houses.
I asked DoApp CEO, Wade Beavers, if my assumption that their strategy about aligning incentives with iKenex was on the right track.
“That is a fair way to position it,” said Beavers, “What we have found is that products developed for a local market do well. They never reach numbers that dazzle you but when you aggregate them they are very high. Real Estate is still a local service and the idea that we are trying to work with agents, associations, etc to maintain that level of service with technology is key.”
“We like to think we are helping them reinvent themselves on the service side but that is only us self proclaiming that and time will tell. I do know that agents use these tools to make their jobs more efficient too. The thing that is amazing for us is we are able to take an MLS and put them in market with their own branded app in 30 days or less which says a lot.”
iKenex (and the other apps DoApp delivers) is one to watch since it undoubtedly is aligning incentives as you can see from the press release below and that they were awarded a significant technology contract with San Diego County’s regional MLS service!
Over 18,000 Real Estate Agents in San Diego Will
Have Access to the Latest Mobile Technology From iKenex
Sacramento, CALIF. – June 17, 2010 – iKenex was awarded the mobile technology contract with Sandicor, San Diego County’s regional Multiple Listing Service representing over 18,000 agents, to provide the latest MobileMLS, MobileIDX, and ConsumerIDX solutions for the iPhone, Android, and Blackberry platforms. “We are very excited to offer these innovative mobile products to the real estate professionals in our area,” says Ray Ewing, CEO, Sandicor.
iKenex will provide Sandicor’s members with a powerful and easy-to-use mobile MLS that runs natively on the iPhone, Android, and Blackberry platforms. These innovative apps will be available in Apple’s App Store, the Android Market, as well as a mobile browser based MLS solution for all smartphones. iKenex mobileMLS uses highly optimized searching algorithms and takes advantage of the phones GPS and mapping capabilities to help pinpoint listings and provide agents complete listing details in seconds. “Imagine being an agent showing properties to a client and having the ability to push a button in front of a listing to receive all of the information you need instantly. It really changes the way an agent can conduct business in the field, “ says Dave Borrillo, COO of iKenex.
The iKenex products allow agents to communicate with their clients more effectively by integrating the mobile application with the IDX (Internet Data Exchange to display listings for customers to view). An agent can save a listing to their favorites folder on their iPhone and see that listing later that day on their office desktop in the same folder. They can instantly send information regarding a listing or directions to a listing directly to their client from their smartphones via email, text, or share it through a direct Twitter or Facebook link.
“Having access to crucial information on a listing when you need it, where you need it is essential to gain the competitive advantage in this market. Timing is everything. Current mobile solutions are too slow and too tedious to deliver MLS information effectively and timely. By utilizing the features that are contained within today’s smartphones iKenex has unleashed the power of this platform,” says Brian Lonchar, VP of sales and marketing for iKenex. “We are thrilled to be working with such a forward thinking organization like Sandicor and look forward to our partnership with them.”
iKenex is a partnership between Concentric Mobile, creators of next generation Real Estate MLS applications, and DoApp Inc., which is one of the top developers of mobile applications in the country. Together, their focus is on developing Real Estate applications that are powerful, easy-to-use, and help agents improve customer contact. For more information, contact Brian Lonchar at (916) 837-6511, brian@ikenex.com or Rich Igou at (916) 290-9665, Rich@iKenex.com, or visit the iKenex website at www.iKenex.com