The Upside of the Downside

Originally published: 2024-04-02

As brokers rethink their models amid DOJ pressure and low inventory, property portals and consumer-first tech are emerging as some of the biggest winners.

It's a great time to be a property portal. With the DOJ decision, higher interest rates and record low inventory, real estate brokers are scrambling to rethink their models and property portals and marketing tools are in the prime position to address some of the most significant new barriers.

With the big squeeze on the real estate industry, brokers and agents are striving to get closer to the consumer experience by either buying exclusive-leads directly from their favorite portals (rather than buying through lead screening companies and paying a referral fee), generating their own, or by acquiring the tech entirely.

Another factor to consider is that the market "bubble" is not coming anytime soon. The economic factors are just not there. We are still in the middle of a significant housing shortage and housing starts are not keeping up so for the foreseeable future, housing prices will continue to climb and there will be a shortage.

Meanwhile, the buyer-broker commission shift speaks to the fact that consumers need more love too.  Finding a home is hard, and they have been treated like leads, not people. And, since today's consumers have nearly as much access to property data as agents do, the value of an agent has shifted.

Time to face the fact that today, most of the info they need about the property can be found with a simple search or an A.I. voice assistant inquiry.  This creates a huge advantage to products and services that are closer to the consumer experience and can help show greater value to the buyer. Afterall, if you've bought a house in the last few years, you know it hasn't changed a lot over the last 30 years, so buyer agents are scrambling to show value.

All of this points to property portals being in a prime position to embrace new tech, provide more insight about the sales journey, and provide more tools to help agents improve their bottom line.

If you're looking to sell your product or company, or looking to make an acquisition to move the needle we want to hear from you. We specialize in matchmaking for partners, alliances and all kinds of off-grid opportunities. And, perhaps more importantly, we can quickly spot the opportunities you're missing to move your business to the next level.