RealScout activates Preview listings; Rechat adds call, text syncing 

Editor's note: Technology is a driving force in real estate. From startups to established players, tech companies are constantly innovating, growing and forging partnerships. Here we highlight some of the latest news about the companies that help power the industry. 

Zillow Preview listings now on RealScout

RealScout said today that Zillow Preview listings are officially accessible via the home search and client engagement platform. The rollout comes about two months after RealScout and Zillow first announced their planned Preview partnership.

The more than 100,000 real estate professionals who use RealScout will now be able to find Preview listings — including coming-soons — in both searches and listing alerts. Once a listing's pre-marketing period allowed under Preview ends, it will appear as a regular listing fully active on the MLS, according to a news release.

"Listing transparency comes down to whether a buyer can choose the agent they trust without worrying that the right home is hiding behind another brokerage's velvet rope," RealScout CEO Andrew Flachner said.

"With Zillow Preview listings from hundreds of brokerages now available in RealScout, agents can give their clients more of the market through the home search experience they already share," Flachner added.

Rechat Text pulls messages, calls into an agent's CRM

Rechat, the self-described "operating system for real estate," today unveiled its latest new product: Rechat Text. The tool connects with an agent's CRM to sync text messages and phone calls to a given contact, allowing the agent to respond directly from a client's profile. 

A beta version of the product, which is limited to one-to-one text messages and calls (group chats, attachments and emojis are not yet supported) is now live for Rechat customers, the company said.

Based on an agent's preferences, Rechat Text can log any client conversation, including timestamps and call duration, according to a news release. The logged communications can also be accessed via Claude or ChatGPT through Rechat's MCP server, an integration launched in August.

"Real estate is a relationship business, and today those relationships happen over text," said Shayan Hamidi, CEO of Rechat. "What I'm most excited about is that Lucy, our AI, now has the full context of those conversations to help agents with more personalized messages, service and suggestions for every client."

The Rechat Text rollout follows the releases of Rechat Websites, which are answer-engine optimized, and House of Rechat, a private online community designed for real estate professionals, which were both announced in September.

NAHB unveils 'Priced-Out' calculator

The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) this week introduced a new tool aimed at helping homebuilders gauge housing affordability levels for prospective buyers in their market.

The tool, called the Priced-Out Housing Calculator, takes the form of an interactive dashboard that assesses the NAHB's own affordability data based on changes in median home prices and mortgage rates, according to an announcement on the association's blog. It enables builders to quantify how broader economic shifts are impacting their local housing markets, the association said.

 "The Priced-Out Calculator gives NAHB members and HBAs a practical, data-driven tool for communicating housing affordability challenges in their communities," NAHB Chief Economist Robert Dietz said.

The calculator is now accessible to all NAHB members. Any member curious about testing the new tool can do so by logging into the NAHB website.