Google Podcasts to Shut Down: How to Transfer Your Favorite Shows
Another day, another killed Google project. On April 2, Google is discontinuing its beloved podcast app, Google Podcasts, and sending it off to the great Google Graveyard. By shutting down the app, Google hopes to make its YouTube Music app the new destination for podcasts. By turning YouTube Music into its default podcast app, Google aims to make it easier for users to switch between video and audio podcast formats. While the hubbub across the web so far seems to be a hearty "meh" to this decision, Google Podcasts fans face just over a month to move their favorite shows to a new app. Google aims to make the transition as easy as possible for users — especially for those willing to migrate to YouTube Music. Here's a quick look at how to move your favorite podcasts out of Google Podcasts and into a new app: Migrating Your Favorite Podcasts Google offers easy, step-by-step directions for exporting your favorite shows — three different sets of directions, actually. Users can choose to transfer their shows to YouTube Music, export their subscriptions via Google Takeout or by downloading their podcast data via an OPML file. You can view instructions for each of these methods here. Alternative Podcast Apps If YouTube Music doesn't suit your podcast needs, there are plenty of other apps that will do the trick. Speaking of new apps, which podcast apps are available for agents to switch to? We're happy to report that there are a wealth of options. Here are a few of the top ones: Apple Podcasts Spotify Podbean Castbox Pocket Casts Overcast Player FM Podurama Podcast Guru AntennaPod Podcast Addict Real Estate Podcast Inspiration Need some more podcasts to listen to? We regularly highlight excellent real estate podcast episodes here at RE Technology. See the full list here. Interested in starting your own real estate podcast? See Want to Start a Podcast? 4 Things Every Agent Should Know.

[Best of 2023] Top 10 Mobile Apps for Real Estate Agents
We're continuing an annual tradition of counting down our top 10 articles of the year. The following article was originally published in February and is #7 in our countdown. See #8 here. Is your phone dialed in to the latest and greatest digital applications? Apps for real estate agents have become essential tools to streamline business workflows. As independent contractors and entrepreneurs that are always on the go, your business has to move with you. Good real estate apps can help agents edit videos and photographs, schedule and track social media, increase efficiency, manage projects and expenses, keep tabs on industry trends, maintain their CRM – and the list goes on. Here's RPR's (Realtors Property Resource) recommendation for 10 solid apps to download and try for 2023: 1. Promo The app: More and more agents are using video to liven up their social media channels. Viewers simply engage with it more, and your posts on Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn will perform better in a video format. The Promo app is perfect for creating compelling video ads, social media videos, walkthrough tours and more. Priding themselves on "smart and easy video creation," Promo gives its users access to over 100 million premium photos and videos from Getty Images and iStock, and provides thousands of themed templates to make video magic that much easier to attain. The cost: You can try Promo out for free, and a "Basic" subscription is $25 if you opt for the annual structure. 2. Lensa The app: This AI-powered photography app is an editing experience that elevates your photos to a different league. Spice up your photos and videos with instant retouching, custom backgrounds, and other fun features such as filters, effects and borders. But what's really hot about this app right now is the Magic Avatars you can create. Have you noticed that your social media feeds are full of cartoon selfies of people? That's the Lensa AI Magic Avatars at work. The cost: When you download Lensa, you get a seven-day free trial. Then have the option of paying a one-time fee for a specific number of unique avatars ($3.99 for 50 is the cheapest option) or shelling out $35.99 for an annual subscription and unlimited avatars. 3. Sphere The app: Everyone should be utilizing a CRM, but Sphere goes beyond a traditional CRM by offering lead tracking, transaction timelines, to-do lists, contacts, deadlines, coaching and more. They also promise that you can create your own unique business plan in just five minutes. Another nifty feature about Sphere is that it caters to real estate teams by giving multiple users access to the same account. The cost: Sphere's pricing structure is interesting. A transaction timeline only account is attainable for $10 per month. The full package option for agents runs you $49 a month, and each one of these versions is available for a 30-day free trial. Here's what makes Sphere really special: new agents (licensed in the last 12 months) can subscribe for one year for FREE. See their website "Pricing" section for details. 4. Bubble Level app/Bubble Level app The app: Bubble Level is just what it sounds like: a working level on your phone. While you might not use it every day, it is a handy tool to keep in your pocket—as opposed to an actual, physical level! Some clients are very detail-oriented and might ask: is that door frame level? Is this floor uneven? Just pull out your phone and get a quick reading. The cost: Free! And it's available for both Android and iPhones. 5. Hound The app: We're guessing that most agents don't have the budget to hire their own personal assistant. However, if you download this app, it will sniff out just about anything you ask it to do! Hound is an AI-powered voice assistant app that uses "proprietary Speech-to-Meaning and Deep Meaning Understanding technology." In English? You can speak to it in your normal, conversational voice and it will understand you. While not real estate specific, the possibilities are endless. Ask Hound for driving directions, to make phone calls or send texts, set alarms and timers, weather updates, real estate news, or any other task you need help with. The cost: Another freebie! Available for both Android and iPhones. 6. Fyle The app: Keeping track of receipts and credit card transactions for you and your employees can feel like a job in and of itself. To simplify the process, check out the Fyle app: it accurately pulls and codes data from expense receipts using its AI-powered data extraction engine. Here's how this "real time expense management" works: you slide your card for some printer paper, and then you instantly get a text asking for an image of the receipt. Take a picture of the paper receipt, and then it's added and matched to your credit card card expense, freeing you of bank statement reliance. The cost: Starts out at $6.99 a month, or you can upgrade to $11.99 for more features. 7. Substack The app: First off, Substack is not a real estate app. However, it is a journalism disruptor and a really cool way to receive content from your favorite writers and creators. With it, you can subscribe to independent writers and podcasters who publish directly to their audience. These "newsletters" help you keep your favorite writers in one dedicated space, with zero ads, noise or spam. Which means you can keep up with real estate industry insights by subscribing to creators such as Real Estate Simpleton and CalculatedRisk and Housing Market Insights. The cost: Subscription plans, such as monthly and annual, are set by writers. 8. Microsoft Lens/Microsoft Lens The app: This one is perfect for agents out in the wild. With Office Lens, you can easily turn just about any written surface (whiteboard, blackboard, receipts, pieces of paper, contracts, business cards, articles, sticky notes) into digitized files, such as PDF, Word, PowerPoint, and Excel. With a scanner in your pocket, you'll never lose any written down words again! The cost: If it's free, gimme three! Available for both Android and iPhones for no cost. 9. Later The app: If you're a real estate agent, being active in social media is very much a mandatory activity. But keeping track of all your channels, posts, photos and videos can really eat up your valuable time. Later is a social media management platform that helps you plan, analyze, and publish content in advance—so you focus your time on your business and nurturing clients and prospects. The cost: Monthly fees start at $18 per month, but a yearly plan will run you $15. You can also try it out with a free 14-day trial. 10. RPR The app: Did we save the best for last?! The RPR Mobile™ app provides agents with an almost unlimited supply of "listing intel." Your buyer has a question about a property that's across the street from the one you're touring? Look it up in a flash with RPR. Better yet, text your client a report on the property in minutes. In addition, the app has recently been refreshed and revamped: the property search filters are more in line with the desktop version, the Buyer Tour feature has been improved, and the reports generation experience has been streamlined. The new RPR app offers all that and much more. The cost: If you're a REALTOR®, there's no cost whatsoever. And only REALTORS® can use it! RPR is included with your membership in The National Association of REALTORS®. To view the original article, visit the RPR blog.

HomeSpotter

HomeSpotter – Augmented Reality Apps for Real Estate Brokers House hunting just got easy. HomeSpotter is an augmented reality technology that shows customers home listings simply by aiming their iPhone, iPad, or Android at homes or condo buildings.   What is Augmented Reality? Augmented reality is a view of the real world environment whose elements are augmented by computer generated graphics. How does HomeSpotter work? HomeSpotter uses a technology called augmented reality coupled with a smartphone or tablet’s GPS and compass to overlay property information on a device’s live camera feed. As a home hunter points their smartphone or tablet down the street, they see a view of the street and info on all the houses for sale pops up. There’s even a radar display that show the direction and proximity of nearby properties for sale. When would I use HomeSpotter? HomeSpotter is a great tool for both agents and potential home buyers. Agents might use HomeSpotter to show their clients other properties for sale in the neighborhood. HomeSpotter is great for metro areas with condo buildings. In addition beach and lake front properties can be viewed while enjoying a day on the boat. These listings have no way to promote themselves with signs. HomeSpotter is the perfect answer for these listings and it is very fun to use.

dsSearchAgent Mobile

Diverse Solutions' dsSearchAgent mobile is a software created for agents and brokers. This software brings IDX search and lead capture features to mobile devices. Find listings and open houses near your location or search the entire MLS IDX feed within the mobile IDX app interface, with built-in contact forms and registration features for lead capture. This IDX solution makes an interactive map onto which properties are plotted and made the central focus point.  Internet Data Exchange (IDX) allows potential homebuyers to search the local MLS listings for up to date property information. Diverse Solutions provides this software to help build a comprehensive IDX feature on mobile devices. It offers both exisiting real estate clients and new leads on-the-go mobile IDX access so they can take your site with them wherever they go on their home search. With a single click, users are also able to save any MLS listing to their favorites tab for reference later. Their phone's built-in GPS will allow them to see a map of listings within a given radius of their current location as well.  For more information click here!

Real Referrals App

Send and receive referrals from other real estate professionals from this app. The Real Referrals app gamifies referral activity to encourage activity. Therefore, agents who frequently recommend others work their way up that app's list of agents in their area. The app works for agents, property managers, mortgage brokers and other related professionals. Use the app to recommend clients to other professionals, and be rewarded with more visibility in turn. With the built-in referral management feature, users can track and follow-up on referral leads they've sent.

AgentProLink

AgentProLink lets agents create a branded mobile app that tracks leads in minutes. Just upload an app icon and logo then select a customizable design theme to get up and running. Agents can then add their business information and upload their most used forms and resources. Share the app via by including its unique URL or QR code to your marketing material. Once consumers download your app, you can track their usage via email notifications or an administrative dashboard. Outbound marketing becomes inbound marketing by knowing who is interested in what, giving you the competitive advantage.

CubiCasa Debuts 3D Product Offering to Elevate Property Listings
Simple five-minute phone scan can now be used to produce 3D renderings of properties, bolstering marketing assets for property listings San Jose, CA – June 14, 2023 – CubiCasa, the global reaching real estate software company, today announced the launch of its 3D product set, which empowers more immersive property marketing assets to be produced from the same five minute smartphone floor plan scan that users are accustomed to. The new 3D floor plans and video renderings provide greater detail and color, mirroring the reality of the property with respect to flooring materials and color, walls, appliances, furniture, and more. The products will be rolled out via invite to CubiCasa's users over the coming weeks. The products are designed to help real estate photographers expand the services they can offer to their customers, without any additional effort, and help real estate agents better market properties by providing more detailed and engaging information on a listing. "In designing these new 3D products, we wanted to stay true to our 'simple and efficient five minute scan' mantra, while offering new and innovative ways to market property listings," said Jeff Allen, President of CubiCasa. "Photographers now have instant access to a premium service for their customers, and agents can help their listings stand out like never before. This moves us another step closer to empowering home buyers and agents with floor plans on every listing in the U.S." "The mesmerizing 3D floor plans and captivating 3D videos are extraordinary additions that allow agents to showcase their listings in new ways," said Katie Colman, Owner of In1View Media in the Reno, Nev. area. "The best part is the streamlined process that effortlessly delivers three remarkable products from a single five-minute smartphone scan!" CubiCasa's new suite of 3D products includes: 3D Floor Plan: Elevate property visualization with birds-eye view 3D floor plans. Users can explore dimensions and flow from a unique perspective, including the option of detailed materials and furniture that aim to mirror reality. 3D Video Render: 2-3 minute 3D video renderings showcasing main rooms and property highlights. 3D Marketing Bundle: Includes both 3D floor plans and video renderings, all in one place. Introducing CAD outputs: CubiCasa now supports CAD outputs for both 2D and 3D software, in multiple file formats. Free 2D Floor Plan with every 3D order: Every 3D product purchase includes a complimentary 2D floor plan with fixed furniture – an extra tool for creating successful property presentations. Prices for these new premium add-on products start as low as $35, with bundling discounts available. Discounts provided in CubiCasa's MLS Partnership Program and Preferred Photographer Program apply to the new suite of 3D products. For more information on pricing, visit www.cubi.casa/pricing. The CubiCasa app is available for download in the App Store and Google Play Store. To learn more about CubiCasa's free floor plan scanning app, visit www.cubi.casa. About CubiCasa Headquartered in Oulu, Finland, CubiCasa is the global market leader in mobile indoor scanning and is known for its fast and easy-to-use floor plan app on the App Store and Google Play Store. CubiCasa's technology is used in 172 different countries and has helped create over 1 million floor plans to date. CubiCasa provides technology for the real estate, appraisal, and mortgage industries and is on a mission to digitize real estate. Learn more at www.cubi.casa.

Mobile Real Estate ID
Mobile Real Estate ID™ allows buyers to access property info, pictures and the listing agent’s contact info directly on their cell phone via text message. At the same time, we capture that lead and send it right to you, the agent. Know who’s looking with Mobile Real Estate ID!

Real Safe Agent
Real Safe AgentTM allows every part of the real estate community — from the MLS to the agents — to play an active role in protecting every agent. Real Safe AgentTM empowers the entire real estate community to protect itself, while still allowing each agent to work the way they need to work. Get Real. Sell Safe.

Better Voicemail
Professional Voicemail For Real Estate Agents Never Lose a Client to a Missed Call Again! With our app, you can collect leads and manage voicemails with caller name lookup, voicemail transcription, categorization by property, and more. With our voicemail, your callers can listen to property descriptions, schedule showings, and leave transcribed messages about specific properties.

Real Referrals
An free app for Real Estate Professionals looking to instantly grow their network, and make money by sending and receiving referrals across North America. Real Referrals was created to enable real estate professionals to send and receive more referrals – all on their smartphone. Realtors, Mortgage Brokers, and Property Managers across the US and Canada can connect and engage with a growing network of top real estate professionals across North America to send and receive referral business. The app’s built in CRM system also allows users organize their inbound and outbound referrals in one, simple platform. Profiles are ranked in each market based on activity. Every time a user sends and accepts a referral, or whenever you invite a new member who downloads our app your profile gets moved to the top for your market where you’re more visible to anyone searching for a pro in your area.