From the Desk of Dan Amdur, CEO, Moving Station/QuickBuy®

Dear Partners,

Mike DelPrete, a global real estate tech strategist, recently published a very interesting article titled “Building a Better Mousetrap: Zillow vs. Opendoor”. The article highlights the success these two real estate industry disrupters are having in gaining the attention of the consumer at a time when consumers are starting to think about real estate. Zillow and Opendoor’s outreach success is defined by the fact that they garnered 23 million leads, in a combined total, in just one year, 2021.

Most of us are aware of Zillow and their impact on the brokerage industry, but the swift trajectory of Opendoor’s success is shocking. While only these two companies were highlighted in the article, there are a dozen of others attempting to similarly disintermediate the agent from the real estate transaction. Most of these companies are trying to service or refer the buy and sell side, while also offering some of the same core services your brokerages offer (mortgage, title, and insurance).

iBuyers are spending millions to attract the customer to them via expensive advertising campaigns and bundling service discounts, as well as enticing your agents to sell their customer list for 3%. This offer is only for one side of a transaction, but it can be an attractive option for agents who would like to be paid a “referral fee” and do a lot less work than they normally do for a similar amount of money. The institutional iBuy programs falsely appear to be a faster, easier solution for agents.  However, if agents look forward in the long-term, they will come to realize they are mortgaging their own future by inviting competition into their customer’s home and selling them that name/client forever. The potential result: a short-term financial gain, resulting in a long-term financial loss. This is on all future buy, sell, mortgage and title transactions, core to the brokers’ business.

We must help your agents understand the advantage they hold is both their local expertise, and a literal hand on the shoulder of the consumer helping them navigate the complexities of transacting real estate; something a call center is less prepared to support.  Agents advocate for customers by providing and presenting solutions for their end goals, not just one size fits all.   We address this in our trainings with your agents. As an industry we need to continue to hold ourselves to a higher standard of quality customer service, transparency, and expertise.  

Selling a home is a means to a desired end (the relocation event), and each customer is unique in their need, timing, and stress of such event.  Unfortunately, these companies offer their iBuying through a “simple click of the button” solution and many consumers will start exploring their options on those platforms.  In contrast and with QuickBuy, your agents offer a “home sale solution for the customers unique situation,” while being their advocate. Agents are empowered to discover and provide unbiased solutions to meet the consumers’ needs via a traditional sale or a QuickBuy solution, with a focus on keeping your firm and the trusted agent front of mind when the consumer is starting to explore solutions for their relocation event, as is the topic of the DelPrete article. QuickBuy is the agents’ lead generating tool. Promoting the availability of these solutions is critical to keeping your customers and to having them call you for real estate solutions first.  Your agents should promote having a solution for every seller need.

Thank you for your partnership and we look forward to continued success.  Call or write with thoughts or comments. 

Dan Amdur