RE/MAX Australia Operations Director, Josh Davoren, has announced a ground-breaking partnership between a real estate company and streaming platform Home Live.
Home Live is a live streaming solution for real estate agents globally. The platform was developed specifically for real estate by co-founders Luke Watson and Jon Tyson, and was launched to the RE/MAX network last month. Onboarding of offices is well underway.
Mr Davoren said the resources his real estate network had developed to support both sales agent and property manager use of Home Live directly benefited them by assisting them to reach a wider audience, create better connections with that audience, and ultimately decrease time-on-market while building their personal brand.
“Traditionally, 99 per cent of leads are lost between the customer going to a portal and the property inspection. Through live streaming, we have added the critical step of ‘engagement’ in between the two,” Mr Davoren said.
He said the live streaming solution had obvious benefits for out-of-town property viewers but had even greater impact for a global real estate brand such as RE/MAX.
“Adopting the platform maintains our leading position in connecting global real estate buyers, sellers and renters.”
He explained how the live stream platform is integrated for RE/MAX agents.
“Property feeds are integrated – with our RE/MAX CRM panelists – with no agent set-up required.
“Leads will be sent directly to an agent’s CRM. Also, a comprehensive toolkit has been co-developed by RE/MAX and Home Live to support the scheduling, marketing and hosting of livestreams, and we will be constantly developing new resources available throughout our internal platform.
“Every agent and property manager in the RE/MAX network has an account set up and ready to go. Live streaming is already active.
“We’ve established and introduced Home Live as a seamless integration with the whole RE/MAX technology ecosystem,” he said.
When the Prime Minister’s March response to COVID-19 meant the way in which Australians were able to buy and sell their homes changed overnight, agents had three options.
They could organise one-on-one inspections with clients. They could use a pre-recorded video. Or they could embrace a third option – a live stream open house inspection.
RE/MAX Australia members can host the live streams directly within remax.com.au, as well as on Home Live’s website home.com.au, and mobile apps.
Mr Davoren said the relationship between the two companies was underway before the pandemic and will continue to be an integral tool well after the effects of COVID subside.
“We had been working with the Home Live team for many months prior, as we investigated equipping our agents and property managers with a toolkit to engage with buyers and renters wherever they may be.
“Our strategic planning had already taken us a long way down the track before COVID-19 hurried things along and we were given a tremendous opportunity to offer our network a fantastic sales and property management tool.
“The thing about Home Live is that it’s not just a live-stream app. It is a solution – a platform that helps the agent generate qualified leads and saves them time and money in getting the property sold or rented,” Mr Davoren said.
Home Live CEO, Luke Watson explained the platform gives agents and property managers control over the context for their live streams.
“Unlike live streaming on say, Facebook or Zoom, the Home Live experience is built entirely around bringing people together to find a new property to buy or rent,” Mr Watson said.
“You might have thousands of people viewing your property through portals, then have a handful come to an inspection. If you add Home Live into the mix, you could double or triple the buyer interest, not to mention reaching a far broader audience of interstate or international buyers.
“We completed a study into real estate discovery just recently and the statistics were fascinating.
“Under normal circumstances, 76 per cent of respondents would request a live stream if they knew the agent offered them, and 81 per cent would watch a scheduled live stream if available. Those numbers jump considerably when factoring in COVID-19, with 97 per cent preferring a live stream prior to any inspection.
“Meanwhile, 79 per cent of vendors would select an agent offering live streaming as part of their proposal over a similar agent who doesn’t. All signs point to agents who embrace Home Live out-performing those who don’t.
“The agent is at the centre of the conversation on an interactive platform like Home Live and is vital to the process,” Mr Watson said.
COVID-19 may permanently change the way many things are done, including the addition of live streaming.
“The world, in general, is more used to doing things online than even six months ago,” Mr Davoren said.
“But no matter how advanced all this technology gets, it will still be about agents helping people get that experience.”
