Real Estate Technology: Ready for “Make an Offer” for Real Estate?

RealtyBid.com, one of the top real estate auction firms in the nation and a CoreLogic company, has created an online offer generation capability for real estate brokers and agents.

The idea was born out of RealtyBid's success in the REO space. Having successfully sold over 30,000 homes exclusively online, many real estate brokers asked for a way to use the RealtyBid online sales system – but in a non-auction format. Most brokers like the concept of online offers and online bidding. However, being very image conscious, they have been reluctant to embrace the technology because auctions in the marketplace typically imply a distressed property and that can give a negative connotation to buyers.

In response to these concerns, RealtyBid created a hybrid program called the RealtyBid Make An Offer System. It allows a broker to use RealtyBid's technology for generating online offers within their own website, protecting and enhancing their brand in the process.

Many technologies exist that allow a broker to generate a lead (hopefully capturing a prospect's name, address, telephone number, and email address), and some technologies exist that allow a real estate agent to make an online offer to another agent. But the RealtyBid Make An Offer System allows the consumer to place an online offer on a property, including the generation of a purchase contract. While this automated process empowers the consumer to make decisions and take action online, the broker remains an integral part of the process. The benefits of the product to the broker (and an agent) are many, but from a lead generation perspective, the consumer who makes an offer in this manner represents perhaps the most qualified of leads – backed by an online purchase contract.

We think this is the next logical step in online real estate and are excited about its market potential as both a lead generator and catalyst to more transactions. We have integrated the RealtyBid Make An Offer System with AgentAchieve and have launched a customer pilot – the returns from which we are analyzing as I write.

Even though there are many details I couldn't include in this article, I imagine you've already had an initial reaction to what I've presented. Please let me know your thoughts, and if you'd like to know more, email or call. I hope to hear from you soon.

To view the original article, visit the CoreLogic Broker Buzz blog.