a la mode Announces New IDX Product

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RISMEDIA, Nov. 18, 2008-a la mode, inc., one of the real estate industry’s largest and most mission-critical technology companies, has announced that it will release a new IDX product for real estate agents. IDX, or “Internet Data Exchange,” is a way for real estate brokers and their agents to display all of the local MLS listings on their own websites, with the hosting broker’s contact information shown instead of the listing broker’s.

While the potential to deploy IDX has been around for quite some time, the laborious board-by-board data mapping and contract approval process has typically favored small local developers over large national vendors like a la mode. Often, that’s resulted in bare-bones IDX systems with limited features and spotty support. But with a la mode’s highly scalable database technologies, MLS data and rules are integrated more quickly and new boards can be added with ease, yet all of the IDX implementations inherit a universal and exceptionally rich feature set.

According to the company, some of the key features in the new IDX product include interactive mapping with driving directions, photo slide shows with unlimited photos, support for virtual tours and video, interactive real-time “slider bar” search controls, appointment scheduling, and numerous lead capture features.

“One of the features our agents love is the automatic appointment scheduler,” noted Alonso Portillo, a la mode’s IDX product manager. “When a visitor is looking at a particular property, they can request a showing directly from the site. The agent is instantly notified, both on their mobile phone and via e-mail, so they can follow up immediately.”

Plus, even though it’s a system developed on a national scale, the company says it includes automatic local adaptation, allowing visitors to see MLS search options that are unique to the target market. So, an IDX search in Miami knows to include options for oceanfront property, but not in Dallas.

a la mode stated that since its IDX system “snaps in” to any agent’s site, not just those using their own XSites brand websites, it helps solve the nationwide problem of getting increasingly large inventories of unsold homes marketed to potential buyers as quickly and effectively as possible. Any agent can expose all the MLS listings to the entire local market, in a consumer-friendly rich interface.

“There’s a dramatic surplus of listing inventory sitting in the MLS, which most consumers don’t know how to effectively access,” added Portillo. “Even when they do find some way to see the MLS’s listings, there’s usually a huge discrepancy between the kind of browsing experience offered by outdated IDX and MLS systems versus the consumer’s online experiences at media-rich sites like Google, Yahoo, CNN, and countless others.

ith more than 80% of all home searches starting online, the kind of rich, complete visitor experience inherent in our IDX system is a crucial component of successful online marketing of these unsold homes,” said Portillo.

For more information, visit http://www.alamode.com/idx or call 1-800-252-6633

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