University boffins have invented a new form of For Sale sign – so tiny it can barely be seen.
The brainchild of scientists at Plymouth University, it is an NFC (near field communication) tag which can be placed discreetly at the entrance of a property on the market.
Prospective buyers touch the tag with their smartphones or tablets, and are then given immediate access to the full particulars of the property.
Professor Martin Tomlinson, chair in communications in the university’s School of Computing and Mathematics, said: “This app solves the age-old problem of how you put your house on the market without broadcasting the fact to all of your neighbours.
“Now, prospective buyers register with the estate agent and are given the free app, which enables them to visit the property and immediately see all the particulars including the price. It is easy to use, with the added bonus of reducing the clutter in our towns and countryside.”
Tomlinson, who developed the technology alongside Professor Mohammed Zaki Ahmed and Dr Marcel Ambroze, said: “The housing market is the perfect application for this type of technology.
“People can face a huge number of headaches when buying a house, but this makes at least part of the process much easier. NFC tags also cost less than 50p each and provide much more information than conventional boards.”
On the downside, the tags will not perform the usual function of boards – informing passers-by that the property is for sale. And anyone who has already registered with the agent will already have access to the particulars of the property they want to go and see anyway.
However, could the tag have possibilities in areas where conventional agents’ boards are banned?
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Comments
@Jon, no.
Sorry should have raised a few points as part of this debate.
My questions to Estate Agents and sellers would be who benifits most from the For Sale board? Is the Estate Agent with there brand logo and number on the side of the road or is it the seller? Some sellers would say their paying for Estata Agent marketing.
Should there be more basic high value sales information about the house on the board to attrack buyers? For example:
4 bedrooms
2 en-suite bathrooms
Modem kitchen
Large garden
Three points
1) Surely the whole point is that you do want the street to know your moving. word of mouth can be the most effective and cheapest way of marketing
2) Why would customers want people coming up to their house with there Smart phones to get information on their house? If there that small how will they see them any way?
3) My neighbour did not have a For Sale board put up outside her house when she wanted to sell. I found out she was moving when I went on Rightmove and looked for houses within a certain distance from mine. Now the world can see all the rooms and all the things has in her house.
More work needed on this one I think
The only vendors i know who dont want the neibours to know are idiots who dont really want to sell... any market research dept at your uni?
"This app solves the age-old problem of how you put your house on the market without broadcasting the fact to all of your neighbours."
What an eejit - neighbours are often the SOURCE of a property buyer!
I can't speak for other Agents - but I look forward to calls from 'nosy' neighbours. Every one a prime selling opportunity!!
A better use of nfc (when cheaper) would be to embed into the details provided to client - they could just swipe the phone over the details and it would automatically open their satnav on their phone and direct to the property
Great to see so much debate around the 'for sale board'. Totally agree with Agency Express comments.
The boards are very cost effective form of marketing and in any other business sector would be deemed a dream marketing tool, offering 24/7 advertising. I cant see that the general public would know what to do with this chip, unless the agent was to point out on viewing, but surely its a bit too late by then?
Tried, tested, failed to take off. As mentioned, NFC needs to be everyday life before we can start using on secondary application. Iphone, one of the market leaders does not even have NFC, I know other phones do but surely this limits the markets straight away?
Wouldnt want to live on the same street as Useless - 60mph is a bit brisk for a residential area
wereallyhaventgotacluehowestateagencyworksabitliketheplonkerswhoimplementedtheshortlivedhipfiasco.co.uk
Slowing down enough to see one of these let alone tap one is likely to result in calls to the police from paranoid neighbours wary of crooks casing the joint.
Sale boards need to be visible and effective at 60 mph.
As previously mentioned this is not new technology Kremer Signs have been trialing this for some time. We think there are some key points to mention here:
1. The use of the for sale board is key in both directing viewers to the property and also in providing a strong presence for the agent in the local community. Having a board that is visible to by passers is effectively one of the cheapest forms of advertising for any agent.
2. When contactless technology was first introduced by the likes of coca cola in 1997 it was thought to be ''the next big thing'' however this has not been the case. In the initial launch period there was an influx of users but this seems to have died down. For NFC for sale board to be successful NFC first need to be successful in the general consumer market. Currently it seems that the trend of using contactless technology lies with those that are technology savvy.
None the less for sale board innovation is always welcomed but lets not forget how and why they are used.
This looks like technology looking for an application rather than a solution for an accepted problem. If this product has been out there for 18 months as Andy March informs us, then claiming this to be a new and welcome development smacks of Prof Tomlinson and his associates mugging EAT for free publicity for their product. Some healthy journalistic cynicism and market research before publishing needed here EAT.
Kremer Signs have trialled NFC and to be honest, it didn’t take off due to the lack of technology. Until consumers are using NFC in daily routines (i.e. payment) it will remain a gimmick.
QR codes on estate agency boards are being used by agents, but again, it normally directs you to the website which is also displayed on the board. If you are genuinely interested in the house (rather than being nosey) im sure you will contact the agent from the other details on the board, which are easier to use/ obtain.
for sale & to let agency boards are very important to the marketing mix and also create brand awareness. Sticking a tiny sticker onto a gate post, when im guessing they are on a viewing with the estate agents seems very very pointless.
www.kremersigns.co.uk will be much more helpful im sure.... enjoy the rest of the day, more importnat news coming soon.
Love Mikes point (especially the last sentance) and agree with Shitemove & Mark.
Clearly not understanding the point of a For Sale Board...
load of crap, a board is to alert potential buyers that a property on on the market
Ah the re-emergence of the "stealth board"!
"How to put your home on the market without broadcasting it to the neighbours" - doesn't sound compelling
Neither does fact that a potential buyer would have to register with the agent and get an App to be able to use - if they do that why wouldn't they alreadv have property details etc?
If the NFC board is so discreet then a potential buyer wouldn't spot it on off chance anyway (unless the neighbours told him/her)!
Perhaps the boffins should consider spending some time in the real world.
This is old news - we have been able to offer NFC tags for over 18 months: http://www.signboard.co.uk/residential/qr-codes/
Ermm so it does away with the clutter of boards. Yes I can see agents loving that and turkeys voting for Christmas.
Maybe add it to a board but not replace it. Then you are back to QR codes.