November 11th - 2006

What’s your position?

Real estate professionals need to know their way around town.

Real estate professionals need to know their way around town. Whether you’re trying to find an open house, locate the listings you are showing or just want to impress your clients with your knowledge of the neighbourhood, a Global Positioning System (GPS) can make your job easier.

While GPS technology has been around for awhile, usage by REALTORS® in the past couple of years has risen dramatically. According to the latest NAR REALTOR® Technology Survey, twenty-four percent of REALTORS® use GPS today and 20 per cent intend to purchase or replace a GPS in the next year.

A GPS uses military satellite transmissions to help you determine exactly where you are at any given point in time. These satellites continually beam to earth signals that can be read by GPS-compatible hardware, including many computers, PDAs, and car navigation systems. When combined with mapping software, the technology guides you as you move from one location to another with detailed turn-by-turn directions. GPS hardware also tracks your travels, saving a visual log of places you visit and even a mileage record.

Most systems allow you to type in an address and a map pops up with its location. If you need a closer look, you can zoom right in. It’s also possible to incorporate maps into your listing presentations. With PowerPoint for example, you can create a map showing exactly where other houses sold and where active listings are in relation to the home. You can even print out the map with your contact information on it highlighting points of interest, such as schools, parks, hospitals or places of worship.

It’s also handy that you can use GPS with the devices you already carry with you, including your mobile phone, laptop, PDA or in your car. If you are in the market for a new car, you might want to consider this gadget as an option. But even if a new car is not in your near future, you can always purchase a GPS unit that can be mounted on your dashboard or simply hand held.

Do your homework
Before you buy a GPS it’s a good idea to read up on what one of these units can do for you. They come in a wide variety of sizes and offer a large range of functions. But, they also range in price from just over $100 to thousands of dollars.

Think about your navigational needs and then do some research on the Internet before heading to your local electronics store. Whatever level of technology you decide upon these are some of the features you should look for when shopping for a GPS including:

  • the ability to load the addresses of several properties into some form of mapping software;
  • several options for finding destinations, including searching by address, street name, or a name stored in an address book;
  • a choice of turn-by-turn directions on screen or spoken commands;
  • a tracking feature for mileage, travel time and fuel expense; and,
  • compatibility with other technology, such as your PDA or PC.

Having a GPS might just mean you’ll never have to ask for directions again.

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For more information contact

Ontario Real Estate Association

Jean-Adrien Delicano

Manager, Media Relations

JeanAdrienD@orea.com

416-445-9910 ext. 246

Ontario Real Estate Association
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The trademarks REALTOR®, REALTORS®, and the REALTOR® logo are controlled by The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) and identify real estate professionals who are members of CREA. The trademarks MLS®, Multiple Listing Service® and the associated logos are owned by The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) and identify the quality of services provided by real estate professionals who are members of CREA. Used under license.

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