Inman

Listing Bits: Making house hunting mobile

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By 2009, mobile users could do a lot with smartphone apps — get directions, listen to music, take pictures, play games, even film a video. Aaron Kardell thought that you ought to be able to add “look for a house” to the growing list of applications.

He founded HomeSpotter with the intention of doing just that.

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Kardell grew up in rural Nebraska in a family of entrepreneurs. He started writing software programs in high school and went on to earn a bachelor’s in computer science at Bethel University in St. Paul, Minnesota.

He originated several businesses, including Altona Ed, an ed tech student information system that was acquired by Pearson School Systems in 2004.

Kardell’s first experience with location-based iPhone applications came along in 2009 when he created iGarageSale. Very shortly thereafter, a broker contacted Kardell about building an app to complement the firm’s successful lead generating website.

Kardell retained intellectual property rights, and Mobile Realty Apps was born.

The company rebranded as HomeSpotter in 2015, and today they have offerings for MLSs, brokers and agents.

On this episode, Kardell joins Greg Robertson live from CMLS in Austin to discuss HomeSpotter’s business model, the latest capabilities around mobile listing input and HomeSpotter’s recent launch of Boost, an automated digital marketing system with trackable ROI.

What’s discussed:

Learn more about HomeSpotter, or connect with Aaron Kardell on LinkedIn.