NAR Game Changer Award Leads to RPR Mobile Web

It feels like just yesterday the RPR product team was headed into our first meeting with a group of members of the Charlottesville Area Association of REALTORS (CAAR). We were meeting with CAAR because they had won a NAR “Game Changer” competition with the idea of building an RPR mobile application. RPR was still extremely new at the time, and they (like everyone else) had never seen the application.

The joint RPR-CAAR group embraced the challenge of devising a mobile web app with gusto—that first meeting hatched a bunch of great ideas. The process was exciting because the CAAR members had a solid understanding of technology and were very interactive with us. Also, Marty Frame made sure each of the participants had a clear understanding of the RPR application and feature set, so their mobile idea could take full advantage of what RPR offers.

Early in the conversation, it was clear that the CAAR folks wanted to maximize the reach of a mobile app by crossing devices and carriers. And they have some unique challenges in their market related to the devices and capabilities the wireless carriers make available. So they focused on the idea of developing a mobile website. But what features would have the highest impact and business value for the REALTOR in the field? After careful consideration, it was decided that quick search and the ability to display key data sets from the RPR database were required, such as: public records, listing information, default / distressed property information, and valuation analytics.

Because an important capability of RPR is to produce customized reports for a Realtor’s customers (e.g. Seller’s Report, Property Report, Buyer’s Report, etc.) it was expected that mobile users would be able to easily email reports to their clients directly from their device.

So with all that information gathered, Brett Nordby—RPR Product Manager—crafted a product plan and away we went, off to create a mobile website that met the needs outlined by CAAR. And now we’re proud to announce that we’ve delivered the first look of the new RPR Mobile Web App to CAAR. They have begun testing the application on various mobile devices and will send us their feedback and product ideas. This beta process should run for approximately 60 days.

The past 90 days have been a hectic time here at RPR as we’ve raced to get the website up and let beta testers begin their work; at the outset of our work with CAAR it seemed hard to imagine that we could squeeze anything else into our schedule. But the team at CAAR relished the opportunity and quickly developed a strong idea of what they wanted and thought would be valuable, which eased the process. We at RPR are grateful for all of the direction they gave us, and look forward to hearing what they say now that it is in their hands.