Keller Williams is shutting down Smarter Agent
“Smarter Agent, which was founded more than decade ago by brothers Brad and Eric Blumberg in Philadelphia, boasted on its website that it counted approximately 25 percent of the real estate industry among its clients.
That includes more than 3,000 brokerages and 300,000 agents, according to the company. If those numbers are accurate, the end of the platform would create a chasm in the real estate industry when it comes to mobile application services.”
I think this was only a matter of time. As Inman News correctly states this is par for the course when a franchisor acquires technology. Compass with Contactually, RE/MAX with booj and now Keller Williams with Smarter Agent.
Brad and Eric are two of the savviest businessmen and innovative vendors I’ve met. They were the first to give brokers and agents a white label version of mobile apps to help them compete with the larger real estate portals. They (still) own numerous patents on location-based search.
This also opens the door of opportunity for other companies. Homespotter is a good example as it offers not only mobile technology but also the workflow of generating leads. It seems gone are the days of stand-alone apps. Agents are now being pitched the entire solution.
It is sad to see them go. You’re right Greg – in their hey day Smarter Agent was kicking up all sorts of dust.
The companies like MLS-Touch, Homespotter and Homesnap will likely have to pick up the slack for brokers and MLSs that relied on Smarter Agent for mobile services.
This may also be an opportunity for the MLS system providers to step up their game with their mobile solutions.