Sunday, June 1, 2008

Gaining ground?

Been working on the buyers guide to computer systems for Realtor online. It’s a story we do every year or so. As part of that we post a query asking readers to let us know what systems they’re using. Nothing scientific about it, just random responses from real estate pros who care enough about the computer they use they want to tell the world about it.

This year there’s been a disproportionate number of responses from Realtors who want t talk about the Mac. Roughly half of the two dozen or so responses have been from Mac users. Even on the PC side I’m hearing from people who either wish they had a Mac or are considering one for their next system.

In years past, there might have been one, maybe two Mac users in a group this large. Clearly something is happening: either Mac users in real estate are now more enthusiastic about their system and eager to talk about it; or in fact their numbers are growing, evident in the number who bought a Mac since the shift to Intel chips.

In fact, several respondents cite the ability to run WIndows on a Mac(if and when they need it) as a compelling reason they’ve gone Mac. With that, they welcome the quality of graphics and marketing material which can be easily produced one the Mac side. Nearly all cited ease of use, stability of the OS and perceived immunity from most forms of malware as compelling advantages.

From all this I sense there’s some momentum there, and the Mac is gaining ground among real estate users. The big question remains, though, will Apple do anything to capitalize on the opportunities developing here.

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