I have an idea I need brutal/honest feedback on

I have an idea I need brutal/honest feedback on

Olney, MD · Member since 2013 · 1 post · 1 vote

Idea: A website that matches home buyers with realtors

The home buyer would type in their zip code, describe their ideal/dream house, give a price range, give their contact info, etc and every real estate agent in the home buyers zip code would be sent an email with the buyers info and their description of their dream/ideal home, that way the realtor could possibly match that person with their ideal home in the territory or area they cover.

The agent would specify what zip codes they want to receive inquiries from and can specify their requirements for leads, such as price range, so they would only get leads that match their set requirements/qualifications. The leads that come into their zip code are delivered into their email inbox and the realtor can then reach out to the interested home buyer. The real estate agent could choose to have their leads sent to them one at a time as they come in, or just once a day.

There are 43,000 zip codes in the United Stats. Each realtor could claim either one zip code or multiple zip codes of their choice and would pay a monthly amount to "own" each individual zip code, meaning all leads/submissions that come in would go straight to them and to no other realtor. This is meant so multiple realtors do not receive leads from the same zip code. Once you "own" a zip code, you receive the leads/inquiries that come to the site under that zip code.

The more populated/popular a zip code, the higher the cost to own that zip code - meaning that "owning" a Los Angeles zip code would be more costly than a Olney, MD zip code. Basically, the agent is paying to rent the zip code on a monthly basis and paying for the leads/inquiries that come from it.

We (the website) send the agent the leads. Besides setting up their account/billing and deciding which zip codes they want, no other work or maintenance is required from the agent.

The agent is charged monthly for the zip codes they own as well as for each lead they are sent. The agent would be billed monthly. R

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Russell BrazilBusiness Member
Moderator
Real Estate Agent · Washington, D.C. · Member since 2012 · 17k+ posts · 30k+ votes
9y

That already exists, its called Zillow

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  • Russell BrazilBusiness Member
    Moderator
    Real Estate Agent · Washington, D.C. · Member since 2012 · 17k+ posts · 30k+ votes
    9y

    That already exists, its called Zillow

  • Real Estate Professional · West Palm Beach, FL · Member since 2012 · 23k+ posts · 13k+ votes
    9y

    ......and trulia and realtor.com.  I wouldn't give a start p a second look.

  • Investor · Milford, CT · Member since 2016 · 77 posts · 55 votes
    9y

    @PJ Pahygiannis It's a great idea! (and you should give yourself permission to ignore the snark). It's true that Zillow (and the others mentioned) offer some of what you're describing, but there remains plenty of room for differentiation and specialization. 

    (By way of comparison, I doubt many real estate agents using BP would accept that they should just stop doing their job because somebody else is already an agent in their market. "It already exists, it's called Coldwell Banker...")

    I spent most of my career in the tech world, and one of the surest signs that you're on to a promising idea is that others are already doing it -- it means there's a market. You might also look at Homelight.com and Upnest.com, which are pursuing variations on what you've described.

    Most of the real estate industry is at least 10 years behind corporate/B2B sales in terms of using technology for lead gen and funnel management, and even if there's interesting stuff already out there from Zillow, etc., you should take that as a sign that there's already a market, and given the overall size of the opportunity, there's plenty of room for others to play. 

    For some context (albeit from a slightly different space), this is the current landscape for one small sliver of the "marketing technology" landscape, a market that is no bigger (and almost certainly smaller) than the market for real estate agent lead gen:

    Anyhow, you should keep pursuing your idea, and test the market. Eric Ries and his "lean startup" methodology is a great place to start.

    Good luck!

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