"Technology is critical to the real estate business, particularly in the Bay Area," said Deeann Mahoney of Alain Pinel Realtors in Los Gatos. "Most of my clients would not be able to communicate without technology. Tech-savvy clients today need information quickly, easily and at their convenience. Technology enables that to happen."

Mahoney believes the best technical tools for Realtors today are email, voice mail, pagers, websites, web searches, online market analyses and email marketing products.

"My transactions have been smoother with email communication and being able to provide real-time information, such as disclosures and inspections, and not via phone, mail or fax," Mahoney said.

The availability of forms online is one of the most recent technological advancements in the real estate industry. According to Mickey Shaevitz, a Realtor with Coldwell Banker in Los Altos who also serves on the Silicon Valley Association of Realtors Board of Directors, online forms can make transactions go smoother.

"Online forms enable Realtors to have immediate access through the computer to all documents necessary to any transaction, whether representing buyer or seller," Shaevitz said. "Environmentally beneficial with less paper, other benefits include efficiency and clarity because of the ability to email documents instead of faxing them."

Realtors in the area have access to forms that are available under the direction of the Silicon Valley Association of Realtors. "I strongly encourage those Realtors who have not yet tried using the online forms to do so. Once they get used to it, they will wonder how they got along without them—just like our computers and email," Shaevitz said.

Realtor Kathi Hammill with Alain Pinel in Los Gatos calls herself a low-tech person who has become a total convert to technology.

"One of the best things about working for Alain Pinel is that they keep adding new technology, so I am forced, kicking and screaming, to learn how to use it," Hammill said. "I love e-fax. I love the web-based Multiple Listing Service so that we can access our computers anytime from any place. This business is all about giving people what they want and making life easier."

Hammill uses e-fax to send clients confidential paperwork so they don't have to stand waiting by the fax machine to grab it before the wrong eyes see it. She also corresponds with one 82-year-old client by email and recently signed up for a listing service so her clients will know about listings immediately.

"I even finally stopped being a total control freak and signed up for Power Connect, the system that emails new listings to my clients and me. I can't believe I have been spending hours checking the Multiple Listing Service unnecessarily," Hammill said.

Asher Robertson, a broker who is also with Alain Pinel Realtors in Los Gatos, uses a listing alert service to keep in touch with his clients as well.

"There are many great new inventions that make our jobs easier and more productive, but what really is important is how these technologies benefit our clients," said Robertson.

Robertson uses his listing alert service to provide information and photos, if they are available, for properties that match his clients' needs.

"If the client would like to see the property, I automatically get an email that tells me so. This allows my clients to be the first to know of hot new properties that come on the market and gives them an incredible advantage over other buyers, especially in a hot market where multiple offers are common. My clients never have to say, 'I wish I would have known about this property one day sooner.' "

Another feature Robertson said his clients rant and rave over is the ability to be notified instantly when a property goes into contract and/or is sold. This feature allows his clients to follow the market very closely and see what is selling and why.

The whole technology issue is second nature to Realtors like Therese Swan with Alain Pinel in Los Gatos, who left a career in the high-tech world for a career in real estate. Before she acquired her real estate license, she was the co-founder of a start-up focused on mobile wireless solutions for the real estate agent. Her tech tool of choice is a tablet computer that incorporates high-speed wireless data and also contains Multiple Listing Service data.

"This enables me to have access to all my information on the road. When I am out with a client I can easily pull up property statistics and photographs on any home. I can also use it while inspecting a home since I can write directly on the screen while I am walking and talking with my client," Swan said. "I am also working on incorporating GPS into this solution so the device can speak driving directions to me while I am out and about previewing properties."

As a means to communicate better and faster with their clients, Realtors today choose to be at the forefront of technology. By testing out cutting-edge devices, Realtors are streamlining the real estate transaction process to make it seamless for clients and themselves.