Realtor Dane Drummond of Coldwell Banker relies on an email system that emails her clients as soon as something comes up on the Multiple Listing Service in their price range and area of interest. She believes this approach extends her capabilities and keeps clients informed when she is out in the field.

"On the other side of technology, I have found that there is nothing like face-to-face and voice-to-voice communication with the client," Drummond said. "My experience is that while email is a great way to touch base with the client, email can sometimes miscommunicate intention and is no way as valuable as the extension of information and rapport that an agent/client relationship can develop through personal communication."

Today's real estate professionals have the latest technology at their fingertips, and Realtor Chuck Lane of Coldwell Banker is typical of many Realtors in his choices. He uses a cell phone, car phone, digital camera, laptop and personal computer, but relies most on his phone and laptop.

Most Realtors use technology in multiple ways. Realtor Therese Swan of Alain Pinel Realtors in Los Gatos finds certain technologies appeal to certain clients, but she couldn't live without her tablet computer with its mobile Multiple Listing Service and full-blown wireless Internet capabilities.

"One time I was showing property in Los Gatos and Almaden and my client decided it was out of his price range and wanted to see downtown San Jose. I fired up the wireless on my tablet computer, downloaded the rest of San Jose that was in his price range, then off we went using the tablet to also navigate. Later that evening we wrote the offer on one of the homes we saw," Swan said.

As a former software engineer, Swan knows what appeals to clients when it comes to the use of technology.

"It's not rocket science or anything, but my engineering clients absolutely love it when I download the Multiple Listing Service data to Excel for them. Most engineers love to play with the data," Swan said. "One time I was helping a client purchase property in Woodside and I downloaded all of Woodside to Excel and we analyzed it together. It became pretty clear, no matter how we looked at the data, there was one particular home that stood out in terms of its price."

Swan took her client to see the home as well as others in the area and soon realized that it was "clearly a fantastic deal." The client placed an offer on the home, and a year later the estimated price had gone up in value by quite a bit.

Realtor John Leslie of Alain Pinel Realtors in Los Gatos thinks one of the most effective technological devices, which has most improved life for all real estate agents, is the cell phone.

"The most common complaint that consumers had about agents was that they could never be reached and didn't return phone calls. The advent of the cell phone ended most of these complaints. Of course, busy agents still have to control the cell phone access or they will live on the phone," Leslie said.

Leslie believes the most helpful technology has been sharing listings with the public through the Multiple Listing Service, since it makes searching for a home a far more efficient process.

"The home buyer can shop on the Internet and help their agent focus on homes that meet their criteria and interest. The agent then can check out those properties and let their clients know whether they are worth their time to see," Leslie said.

From a marketing perspective, the digital camera and the Internet have changed the marketing of homes for the better said Leslie.

"The public is hooked on scrolling through pictures of homes in an area they like. They always want more pictures and virtual tours. Relocation clients commonly request us to shoot digital photos and email them back," Leslie said. "I can see reality video tours next on the horizon. Agents will have video camera crews following them around as they give their clients live tours of homes."

Realtors will be able to check out the latest technology and find out how it will best serve clients at an upcoming day-long event called Tech Tuesday as part of the California Realtor's Expo 2004 to be held at the Santa Clara Convention Center Oct. 5­7. More than 7,000 Realtors are expected to attend the event, which is the state's largest real estate trade show featuring educational, networking and professional development opportunities.

(Note: This is part one of a two-part look at technology in real estate. Next week 's article explores the efficiencies of technology in real estate transactions.)