BrokerExec is a real estate web site engine that will allow you to list your properties online as well as your web site's content. We have released this script under the LGPL open source license and it is currently available for download free.
About this new open source edition
Real Estate and Mortgage brokers all across the United States and in other countries are feeling the ‘very real’ effects of their declining real estate markets and many are starting to look for other means of revenue generation (or have gone bankrupt). Most folks feel that this depression (yes I said it) is not going away anytime soon and home values across the country are quickly waning as inflation and mortgage rates increase.
The average person these days cannot afford to buy a new home and Realtors are really feeling the effects. It is sending many of them “running for the hills” as their pockets get thinner. We at BrokerExec have been servicing the mortgage and real estate industries for over 10 years now and so have many other Internet companies, but this plunge has certainly caused quite an impact on us all. We’ve been helping Realtors build and market their online presence for a long time and the majority of our clients are still with us fighting the battle, but it’s getting more and more difficult to stay in the race.
It is for this very reason that we (iTrends, Inc. / BrokerExec Software) have decided to turn our award-winning commercial web site engine into an ‘open source’ project and releasing it to the world for free! BrokerExec RE Web Engine is easy-to-use web software that allows agents the opportunity to create their online presence with minimal investments, while helping them to generate leads from the web.
Most Realtors these days know the value in “online” marketing and how cost-effective it can be compared to traditional methods, but most do not have the know-how or money to develop a high-end web site to showcase their listings. The simple fact is that it can cost thousands to develop a good web site and even thousands more to develop one that actually produces leads.
We’ve been helping agents succeed at this, but now that the real estate industry is in trouble we thought we’d give back a little. We have decided to release our “lead generating” web site engine to the public under the LGPL Open Source license, which means that you can download the software, modify it and distribute it FREE. This will open up many new doors for real estate web developers and agents alike. We know that by creating an online presence (and with a little hard work) many of you Internet savvy real estate agents can create a way to sell your properties even in this tough economy. The fact is that most people these days are turning to the web to research properties.
Building an online presence allows you to reach an audience that would normally be impossible to attain using the “old-fashioned” techniques many of you have always used. Newspapers are even feeling the effects of the Internet’s accomplishment. The #1 ad buyers for newspapers ads are (and have always been) real estate agents that post their properties for sale or rent in the classifieds section, but according to a recent study by eMarketer.Com, newspaper sales have dropped by as much as 25% because many brokers and agents are turning their efforts and marketing dollars to selling properties on the web.
This is good for big brokers, but what about the little guy? Most agents can’t afford to create a good web site (programmers are very expensive) so what are they supposed to do?
May.06
