ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, August 25, 1996 TAG: 9608270002
SECTION: HOMES PAGE: D-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JONATHAN HUNLEY STAFF WRITER
When real estate agent Greene Lawson has a home on the market the property speaks for itself - literally:
"Thank you for listening to this Talking House. ... There's a lot more inside this home than you might expect," a house on Howbert Avenue says.
Three of the houses Lawson has under contract are equipped with Talking House systems.
This technology basically creates a miniature radio station in a house. It consists of a unit about the size of a telephone answering machine. An agent records a message about the home and the message is stored on a computer chip.
Anyone who drives by can hear the house talk by tuning a car radio to a certain frequency, usually 1610 or 1600 AM. The message can be heard up to 250 to 300 feet from the house. "It broadcasts over and over," said Lawson, who works for Waldrop Realty in Roanoke. "It goes 24 hours a day."
Lawson has used Talking Houses for less than 10 months, but he said he has sold seven or eight homes with the system.
Before using the system, Lawson's average time for listing a house until it sold was 80 days. With the talking technology, that time has dropped to 65, he said.
Because most people find a home by driving around, the road is the "obvious place" to advertise, Lawson said. "You get a whole lot of details" by listening to the message, Lawson said.
Lawson said he's experienced no problems with the Talking House system. And the price - about $200 - is right, too, he said. "It certainly is cost-effective. ... You have a one-time cost, and that's it."
Scott C. Matthew said that eventually all homes for sale will talk. But he's biased. Matthew is president of Realty Electronics Inc. of Fond du Lac, Wis., which manufactures Talking Houses.
Matthew's father, Richard, developed the technology in the 1980s to use in his own business. It was so successful that other agents wanted Talking Houses. So, Richard Matthew closed the No. 2 real estate office in town to make his product full time.
The company has sold about 50,000 systems - about 1,000 of those in Virginia, Scott Matthew said. Most are sold through ads in real estate magazines.
Jack Nickens has had a Talking House in the Cotton Hill Estates subdivision of Roanoke County since he listed his home with Lawson at the end of June. He said he is "extremely impressed."
"It definitely gives the buyer more information without having to call the real estate agent," he said. Nickens said at least 10 to 15 people a day stop and listen to the message. "On the weekends you'll have more cars than that," he said.
Curiosity brings some of these folks inside Nickens' home. When asked recently if anyone had asked to view his house's interior just from listening to the recorded message, he said: "That happened about six o'clock this evening." A woman came to his door, said she had listened and wanted to see the inside of the house. "So it definitely does create the interest," he said.
Nickens said he's had no trouble operating the Talking House, which is powered by a 110-volt outlet.
The Talking House system allows agents to use a "more personal touch" when advertising property, Nickens said. Other media such as brochures or signs are not so useful.
"I think it's very beneficial for the buyer, very beneficial for the seller."
LENGTH: Medium: 72 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: ALAN SPEARMAN Staff. Drive by and tune in to thisby CNBtalking house at 6744 Christopher Drive in Cotton Hill Estates.
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