PRERS Launches Industry’s First Research and Development Laboratory
Prudential Real Estate and Relocation Services (PRERS) has launched the real estate industry’s first ever research and development laboratory exclusively focused on building a new generation of tools for real estate professionals.
Announced by PRERS Chairman and CEO Jim Mallozzi during the recent Sales Convention, the Prudential Real Estate Collaborative Innovation Partnership (PRECIP) will bring together the real-world knowledge and expertise of Prudential Real Estate Network brokers, owners and sales professionals with leaders in immersive world technologies, web 2.0 applications, mobile computing and communications to achieve its goals.
Mallozzi explained, “Our mandate is to take new ideas and technology and turn them into the types of tools we need to compete in the future … We have taken significant steps to strengthen our support for our Network, including enhancing our technology platform for high-definition video, photo and mobile applications.”
As an initial step, PRERS has signed a letter of intent with Immersive Design Studio, a Montreal-based virtual world developer, which will work with the company to further define PRECIP’s research agenda and on the development of next-generation virtual home tours that are as satisfying and emotionally compelling as the real thing.
According to Mallozzi the immersive home tour technology will allow agents and clients “from opposite ends of the continent, from opposite ends of the world” to come together in the virtual home and exchange thoughts with one another in real time.
To underscore the interactive nature of Sales Convention and to foreshadow the collaboration that will power PRECIP in the months ahead, Mallozzi asked attendees to email business ideas that others in the Network could use right away. More than 2,200 business ideas were collected over the course of two days and will be shared with Sales Convention attendees in the near future.