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.

Showing Note

Showing Note is a tool that real estate professionals can use to collaborate with buyers. The app allows your buyers to create text, picture, and video notes during real estate showings, and share their notes with you and on social media networks. When your client arrives at a showing, Showing Note will automatically detect their location so that they can check in. Once checked in, buyers will have access to in-depth MLS data about the property. From there, they can rank it against other listings they've seen. Buyers can document each home showing they attend by noting their overall opinion, adding photo and video galleries, and entering what they liked most, least, and their opinion on price. Notes that collaborators make on the same property will also reflect in their account. Buyers can then share their favorite homes with you or on social media. They can send another Showing Note user a request to collaborate and share notes, pictures, videos, and favorite homes. Showing Note can also keep buyers updated on their favorite homes. By opting to receive text or email notifications on listings they choose, buyers will automatically be updated on price changes, status changes, or when a property goes back on the market.

Dashfly's Mobile Driving Route

Dashfly Technology is a mobile and online software that provides real estate agents, brokers and firms an efficient way to create optimized driving routes, track mileage, and run auditable mileage reports for IRS purposes in seconds. Whether you're making sales calls, viewing properties, building a delivery route or just running errands, Dashfly is quick and easy and takes care of all your route planning needs. Dashfly increases productivity and keeps you organized and efficient. Features include: Optimize Routes- Most efficient routing with turn by turn directions and up to 25 stops, Reroute Stops- Drag and drop your stops and edit routes to meet your needs, Save and Communicate- Save routes, add notes, and email to clients or friends, Track Mileage- Keep a running log of all miles driven in one central location. In addition to their free service, Dashfly offers several account options tailored to fit your business and personal trip planning needs. There are three packages with Dashfly. Dashfly Standard is their free service. This includes route, edit and reroute up to 5 stops. You can save up to 4 routes without paying for the service. If you find you like this software, you can upgrade your package to Dashfly Premium. With Dashfly Premium you can pay one annual fee or monthly fees. You are able to route, edit and reroute up to 23 stops, and save an unlimited number of routes. You can track, report and summarize your mileage. You can also log notes and route information. The final version is Dashfly Enterprise which offer you pricing upon request. This version was intended to give organizations and corporations a solution. If you are interested in this option, Dashfly will tailor this service to meet your needs, and they will price it accordingly. You can also get Dashfly on your mobile device.

SmartClosing

Closing.com’s SmartClosing is a free calculating widget that you can embed into your website. Closing.com’s widget enables buyers to calculate their estimated monthly payments (including mortgage, home insurance and property taxes), their closing costs and the total amount of cash they will need to close their transaction. Sellers can estimate sale proceeds, while homeowners can calculate the cost to refinance their home in a few simple clicks. Potential home buyer or sellers can visit an agent’s website and use the widget to enter information about a house they would like to buy or sell. They can specify the price, number of bedrooms, square footage and more. The widget looks at local financial institutions that can provide the financial services the homebuyers or sellers need. The widget populates this list and includes the price of each service. Services can include: title companies, home insurance policies and more. By clicking one of the services, the widget calculates the monthly costs, closing costs, and the total amount needed when the transaction closes. Visitors to an agent or broker’s site can get an instant closing cost estimate. It will also show them where to cut corners, to save money. Users can add this widget to your website and brand it with their company logo. The SmartClosing Calculator is also available as an iPhone application, making it easy to estimate buyer’s costs and seller’s net proceeds with a few quick clicks, anywhere, any time.

Branded Agent App by Smarter Agent

Provide your clients with your own branded mobile App. Your name will always appear at the top of every page as your clients search for their next home. Most importantly you get all the lead phone calls and emails. Even if you’re not the listing agent...you get ALL the leads, not your com- petitors! Your clients can also share all properties with their friends and family members through Facebook, Twitter, Email or Text message. You will be able to share your personally branded app with your own Text code, QR coes and short URL that you can place on your website or emails. Your App. Your Leads.

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.

Closing.com
Closing.com is the #1 source for real estate closing services on the Web. Real estate professionals and consumers can use it to find and compare local real estate services, such as title insurance, closing attorneys, escrow/settlement services,home inspections, pest inspections, home warranty, notary services and more. The site's SmartClosing Calculator makes it easy to calculate buyer's costs and seller's net proceeds in just a few clicks. Instant closing cost estimates are customized by transaction and geographic location to provide more accurate results than other closing cost calculators that rely on averages. The company's SmartGFE Service delivers closing service provider rates, transfer taxes, property taxes and data for every line item except loan pricing on the Good Faith Estimate. The live rate feed allows lenders to automatically populate their GFEs with just a few clicks.

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 Estate Tools
Real Estate Tools is focused on developing real estate investment analysis software for the Mac, iPad, iPhone, and iPod Touch. Property Evaluator is designed to analyze buy and hold properties, and Property Fixer is designed for investors who flip properties. The goal is to let you do a true apples-to-apples comparison between the properties that you're looking at to determine which one is the best deal. After you do the analysis, you can show the report to your clients directly on your iPhone or iPad, or you can email a beautifully formatted PDF report to them. Real Estate Tools now offers Construction Cost Estimator which helps you quickly create on-site estimates for construction projects using your iPhone, iPad, or Mac.

AppBuilderOnline.com
Apps have quickly become "portable web sites" They give your business visibility that extends beyond the Internet and literally into your customers’ pockets and purses. Your customers don’t have to log into their computers and search the Internet to find you. With an App, they’ll have all your information in – litetrally – the palm of their hand. Apps from AppBuilderOnline.com include features like one-touch calling, street directions to your business, inventory searches, appointment requests, and more. In fact, Apps from AppBuilderOnline.com are the most feature-rich – and affordable – mobile Apps on the market today. That's why AppBuilderOnline.com leads the App market for businesses with 600+ in Apple's iTunes/Android Market App Stores today. Apps keep your clients in-the-loop with instant notifications of sales, new arrivals and events. Send coupons with four-color graphics, and save money on expensive mailings.