Metropix Team Blog

The best just got better and floor plans will never be the same again

We’re very pleased to announce the official launch of our latest and much improved drawing solution.  

The development was based almost wholly on feedback we received from the thousands of customers around the globe using Metropix.  The end result … even more flexibility, quicker and easier production and better-than-ever floor plan quality.  Plus … our service now supports additional browsers and many Apple Macs.

Here’s a sample of some of the fantastic new design features:-

•          Custom-set external wall thicknesses
•          Option to include measurement arrows
•          Internal furniture icons such sofas, tables, chairs, and beds  
•          Exterior features including patio furniture, sports cars … and even swimming pools 
•          More kitchen appliances such as fridge-freezers, washing machines and dishwashers
•          Additional bath, sink, and shower icons

What’s more, many of the icons within the new solution are supported, and therefore visible, in 3D!

As for drawing your plans, the fresh new user interface is so intuitive, you'll immediately notice how much easier it is to draw plans using features such as:-

•          ‘Duplicating’ icons (i.e..to place identically-sized windows etc)
•          One click re-sizing and rotating option
•          Single-key short-cuts

There’s even an ‘expert’ mode with fewer 'help' messages and some advanced drawing features.

One customer summed the new version up very nicely - “I love the new look Metropix.  Bravo, fabulous, faster, smarter, more detail and just a joy”. 

Below are some examples of plans created using the latest software. 

To migrate to the new-look Metropix - which is at no additional cost - simply log in to your account, select  “My Account” then “Change Preferences”.  Tick the new version option at the bottom of the screen and then “Save” your changes. That’s it. 

If you’re not already using Metropix, simply register at www.metropix.co.uk today to get started with a free 14-day trial (the new version is the default setting for all new accounts).

Happy drawing!

 

Major portals support using floor plan URLs

Most of the leading property portals – including Rightmove, Primelocation and FindaProperty – can now display floor plans on their respective sites via a web-link (URL) such as http://content.metropix.com/p/427694.

 

This small change in technology can make a massive difference to the way your floor plans are displayed on the internet.  No more ‘sizing’ issues – viewers will be able to see your plan displayed perfectly every time, floor by floor.  Better still, it makes it very easy to use floor plan upgrades, such as PicturePlus (interactive floor plans) or 3Ds, without having to make any in-house technical changes.

 

If you’re not already using the link provided by Metropix to display your plans on your chosen portals, start today... you’ll be amazed at the difference in quality.

 

Simply check with your estate agency software support team – the vast majority of major suppliers support this technology to feed floor plans through to the portals; if your supplier doesn’t, it should be fairly straight forward for them to add this functionality and give you the benefit of using urls to display floor plans. 

Survey shows that the public love floor plans

Hard on the heels of figures from Rightmove which showed that using floor plans increases buyer interest by a whopping 30%, there’s further confirmation of the power of floor plans as a property marketing tool - this time in the authoritative Home Moving Trends Survey 2009, published by The Academy (www.estateagencyacademy.co.uk).

According to this report, arguably the UK’s most comprehensive annual survey of public attitudes towards estate agents and the housing market generally, a remarkable 85.5% of the house-hunting public consider floor plans as useful or essential – nearly half saying they were essential - in their on-line property search.

This makes floor plans far and away the most popular of the “optional” marketing tools used by agents, putting it right up there with absolute must-haves such as photographs, written descriptions and location maps. By comparison, information on local shops scored just 58.9% with the public, and 360-degree virtual tours 51.2%.

Get a sneak preview of the new Metropix software and have your say

We're always working to improve the Metropix service, and as part of that process we have been working on a completely new version of the Metropix plan drawing software.

The goal is to deliver a whole raft of new features over the coming months, while ensuring the new version is even easier to use.  As well as tools to help you draw better floor plans more quickly and easily, the technology will allow plans to be drawn on the Apple Macintosh, on browsers such as Firefox and Google Chrome, on Tablet PCs, Windows Mobile devices and on Nokia S60 mobile phones.  You'll also be able to download the software to your desktop and use it offline.

A sneak preview is available now and we would appreciate your guidance on developments so far -- what you think of the changes and what you most want to see added next.

To try it, please click the link below to view your account preferences, log in if necessary, and then tick the box at the bottom of the page:

http://www.metropix.co.uk/mtpix/prefs.aspx

After ticking the box, click Save Changes and then go to draw a floor plan as normal.  Once inside the new plan drawing software, you'll see a Feedback tab on the right for comments and suggestions.  Your feedback is already directly guiding the features being added to the software, so please do not hesitate to let us have own thoughts.

Free PR opportunity - draft press release available for download

If you’ve read our previous blog entry, you'll know that a property marketed with a floor plan receives an amazing 30% more interest than a property without one.  Clearly, communicating this message to prospective vendors should result in them choosing to instruct an agent that uses floor plans.   

One very effective communication option is to send a press release to your local newspaper quoting the above fact and at the same time confirming that your agency uses floor plans on every instruction. Editors are always on the lookout for an interesting business story and property is a hot topic at the moment - there's a good chance therefore that your article will get published.

To help our customers benefit from this free PR opportunity, we’ve drafted a generic press release which can be downloaded, tailored and forwarded to local publications (or used generally to help with marketing).  Simply click here to download the Word document.

Good luck!  (And please do let us know if you are successful)

It's official - floor plans increase buyer interest by a massive 30%

The Negotiator recently explored the different marketing strategies that agents can adopt to make their properties stand out from the crowd, especially when marketed on portal sites.

Of course, with so much competition out there, savvy marketing is crucial. Recommendations such as good photos, creative descriptions and effective portal services all contribute to the best return on marketing investment - no surprise there.

Here's an interesting statistic for you though - according to Rightmove, properties marketed with a floor plan generate a whopping 30% more interest than properties without one. 

Reasons to use floor plans really don’t get any clearer than that!

Click here to read the Negotiator's full article. 

Metropix has been acquired by Landmark Information Group

Metropix are delighted to announce that the Landmark Information Group, a subsidiary of publishing company Daily Mail and General Trust, acquired the company last Friday.  The sale is the culmination of a competitive bidding process handled by PricewaterhouseCoopers Corporate Finance that commenced in April this year.

We'll now be working alongside the Landmark Information Group, Britain's leading supplier of land and property search information.  And we'll also be in the same stable as several other well known names in real estate, such as Primelocation and FindaProperty.

All Metropix staff are continuing in their role with the company including Max Christian and Brian Farrell, the co-founders of the business.  The one exception to this is our chairman, David Watts, who leaves us with our thanks and best wishes for the future.

Customers will be aware of recent improvements to the Metropix service, such as the Floor Plan Finder, drag-and-drop floor layout, warnings to help avoid missing doors and windows, and more.  Our focus remains on continually developing the service in response to customer feedback, with many more improvements in the pipeline.

If you have any comments, as always please click the Comments link below or call our team on 0845 838 5355.

Inside 3DGE is short-listed for prestigious award

Inside 3DGE has been short-listed as a finalist for the 'Estate Agency Innovation Award' - one of the very prestigious 'Negotiator Awards'. The awards will be presented at a glittering awards ceremony at the Hilton in London's Park Lane on 11th November.

Launched late 2007, Inside 3DGE has introduced a new dimension to property browsing, literally, by converting a 2D floor plan into a 3D model placed in its exact geographical location within a virtual world such as Google Earth.

It allows potential buyers to zoom from 'satellite to sitting room' exploring aerial images of the area, local facilities and infrastructure AND external and internal views of the property in 3D - all in one place.

 

With customers telling us that an ever increasing amount of new business is coming from their web site (up to 80%), Inside 3DGE represents the very latest in must have online marketing tool for all forward thinking agents.

 

Have a look at this unique product at http://www.metropix.co.uk/mtpix/google-earth-real-estate.aspx

1,000,000 floor plans can't be wrong

Just after 4pm this Tuesday afternoon, Christopher Way at Greenslade Taylor Hunt in Burnham-on-Sea drew this floor plan

On Tuesday alone, several thousand other floor plans were "Made with Metropix" so why, you might ask, are we writing about this one?  Well, this one has a special place in our hearts as it's the 1,000,000th plan created with our help since we opened up shop nearly four years ago.  To put that in perspective -- quite literally -- here's a visualisation of just a few of those million plans:

(Each red dot on the map is one or more floor plans.)

It's more than a big number and a pretty picture however, this vast archive of property information is valued by thousands of estate agent branches who obtain a plan from it more than 4,000 times each month. 

As far as we know, Metropix is now used at more offices than any other estate agency software, and it's likely to be a lot less than four years before plan number 2,000,000 is drawn.  We're working hard to make it even easier to create plans and to provide upgrade options that make them an even more powerful sales tool. 

As always, if you have any comments or suggestions on how we can improve the service to suit your needs, please get in touch by email or give us a ring on 0845 838 5355.

New Sketch Template now available

We have re-designed our handy Sketch Template to include lots of new icons which will make your sketches easier to read when you’re back at the office, especially if you have someone else who draws the final plans for you!

 

This new design will be particularly useful for AutoDraw users as it will really help towards producing higher quality plans – there is even a space for “special instructions” to make sure that all your requirements are met. 

 

The template is now available to download directly from our Downloads page at http://www.metropix.co.uk/mtpix/downloads.aspx , where you can save it to your pc and print one out before you visit a property.