From left: Dottie Herman of Elliman, Frederick Peters of Warburg, and Matt Daimler of Buyfolio.com

While it’s true that most brokers can’t read minds, with a VOW they can come pretty close.

Real estate pros say that VOWs, also known as “Virtual Office Web sites,” can give agents a backstage pass to their clients’ predilections. VOWs allow buyers to view an agent’s listings — and those belonging to other brokerages — all on the same Web page.

But VOWs present serious invasion of privacy issues and as a result can be a real turn-off to homebuyers, critics say.

VOWs can track your buying behaviors. For example, if a buyer tells a broker that she has a budget of $1.2 million, but the broker sees the buyer checking out $1.5 million listings on the company’s VOW, the broker could potentially push the buyer to make a larger purchase than she had talked about. [more]

Listing information provider On-Line Residential has joined the VOW fray, this week introducing its new software product for brokerages to adopt virtual office Web site, or VOW, capabilities. A VOW allows consumers the chance to view all industry listings in the Real Estate Board of New York database on one Web site, a strategy now being adopted by many of the city’s leading real estate firms, including Halstead Property, Prudential Douglas Elliman and A.C. Lawrence. OLR’s version of the VOW is particularly aimed at smaller brokerages who want to give their customers comprehensive search experience while maintaining their loyalty. “Essentially, it’s a Web site within a Web site but the VOW will maintain the brand image of the firm by incorporating the firm’s logo, banners and footers, color scheme and font choices,” said Jonathan Greenspan, OLR’s president and founder. “We felt that it was very important for the consumer to feel that he/she was still working on the same Web site and not being sent somewhere else.” REBNY approved the software last week, and more than 40 firms — ranging from one-person agencies to some of the city’s largest firms — have already committed to adopting the new product, Greenspan said. TRD