San Francisco, CA – November 17, 2011 – (RealEstateRama) — Zephyr Real Estate once again leads the race in technology advances for the real estate industry. San Francisco home shoppers need look no further than their iPhone to find every available listing in the city with Zephyr Real Estate Search, now available in the iTunes Store.
The Zephyr MLS-powered search makes it easy to find all available properties for sale in San Francisco. It is the only app that allows users to search by specific neighborhood rather than just by zip code, leading to far more nuanced results. The app includes GPS detection to search in nearby areas, or by any other criteria that is a priority for those looking for San Francisco properties.
By electing to create a free MyZephyr account, even more features are available. For example, users will be able to find additional properties not available on public websites, search pending and sold properties, save searches and favorites, rate properties, make notations, share properties with others via email or on Facebook, receive new listing and price reduction email alerts, and use Zephyr’s exclusive Home Tour tool. The Home Tour tool allows the creation of customized multi-point driving directions of up to ten properties, which is particularly useful for planning a tour of Sunday open homes. All of the personalized saved information, from searches to tours, is available from anywhere for those with a MyZephyr account, whether utilizing the full site or the app.
“We’ve seen a dramatic increase in mobile usage of our site over the past year, and expect to only see that trend continue with the expansion of the mobile market,” commented Randall Kostick, Chief Operating Officer of Zephyr. “With a robust mobile experience in place in a market area with too few good options in the real estate sect, we expect to see our site and app traffic continue to trend upward.”
Recognizing the proliferation of smartphones in the marketplace, Zephyr’s mobile website provides those users with an app-like experience so that all the tools and services are available to non-iPhone users as well.
“The diligent and detailed process to develop this app was extensive and reflects Zephyr’s commitment to create an easy-to-use tool for our clients,” stated Hud Bixler, Director of Technology. “We deliberately decided to develop a custom app rather than license something ‘off the shelf’ so that the content would be more localized, which we feel is crucial.”
Currently, the new Zephyr app serves San Francisco only; however, development for additional cities in the Bay Area is planned.
About Zephyr Real Estate
Founded in 1978, Zephyr Real Estate is San Francisco’s largest independent real estate firm with $1 billion in annual gross sales in 2010 and a current roster of more than 200 full-time agents. In 2010, Zephyr launched its new website, which has earned two web design awards, including the prestigious Interactive Media Award. Zephyr Real Estate is a member of the international relocation network, Leading Real Estate Companies of the World; the luxury real estate network, Who’s Who in Luxury Real Estate; and the local luxury marketing association, the Luxury Marketing Council of San Francisco. Zephyr has six strategically located offices in San Francisco, a business center in Marin County, and serves a large customer base throughout the San Francisco Bay Area. For more information, visit www.zephyrsf.com.
