It can play your favourite music and has a seemingly encyclopaedic knowledge of facts and figures.
And voice-controlled smart devices such as Alexa could soon be giving househunters the lowdown on properties for sale, thanks to a Mirfield-based estate agent.
Christian Armitage, of estate agency Fast Move, based at Wheatley Park, is working with a company in India to perfect an app which will allow the likes of Alexa to provide a user with details of properties on the market.
Mr Armitage, who said the system was just weeks away from being ready, explained: “You could ask for details on all the properties in Huddersfield priced between, say, £350,000 and £400,000 that have come onto the market in the last 24 hours. Alexa could read them out or send you an email – or even make a booking for you to view a property.
“With the system in the car, you could be driving along and see an interesting property for sale, ask Alexa to provide information about it and by the time you get home there will be an email with the property details.”
Mr Armitage, whose previous initiatives have included reflective “for sale” signs that can be seen in the dark when car headlights shine on them, said the use of devices such as Alexa to provide property alerts was the next logical step for househunters already using online property sites such as Zoopla and RightMove.
The former Shelley High School student said people would always want to view properties online, but said the new system offered an efficient and convenient way to locate what could well turn out to be your dream home.
“People are already using Alexa to interact with as the first thing they do when they get up in the morning,” he said. “I can see this attracting attention in a big way and I am hugely confident. I have assessed over the past six months that voice-activation is going to be the next platform for property searches.”
Mr Armitage set up Fast Move in 2006 after running a property purchasing company for some years.
