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Copyright (C) 1998 Intel Corporation, 2200 Mission College Blvd., Santa Clara, CA 95052-8119, USA. All rights reserved. No part of the article can be reproduced without the permission of Intel Corporation
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Connected 2001
The Transformation of the Residential Real Estate Industry*
*Copyright (C) 1998 Intel Corporation.All rights reserved.
No part of the article can be reproduced without the permission of Intel Corporation, etc.
CASE STUDIES:
Pacific Union Real Estate Group, Ltd.
Getting in Front with a New Business Model
Bill Jansen, Executive Vice President at the Pacific Union Real Estate Group, Ltd., sees a dramatic transformation in the real estate industry today, resulting from technology, consumer demand and pressure within the industry itself. He and his colleagues aren't waiting to see what might happen. In a joint venture with NoorVision Inc., they're getting out front with a new approach that combines the power of on-line technology with a full-service team of professionals to deliver marketing and property information to buyers.
Extensive market research using focus groups and quantitative analysis showed that real estate consumers want to understand value. Jansen says, "They want to know what they're paying for and what they're getting. The traditional real estate model, the one we've used for the last 50 years, has to change."
Cost Effectiveness, Convenience, and Control
Led by President Karl Sopke, Pacific Union's management team concluded that they needed to access the consumer "early in the buying cycle" with both information and a more congenial, less aggressive sales approach.
The result is a three-pronged solution.
- Cost effectiveness through an integrated online and retail infrastructure.
- Convenience through access to information, resources, and comprehensive customer service.
- Control through technology that empowers homebuyers to educate themselves with the information they need to make all key decisions. It all comes together in SOMA Living, a combination of online services and a retail store.
SOMA Living
In addition to a new significant presence on the Web www.somaliving.com, Pacific Union and NoorVision introduced a prototype retail model, the SOMA Living Store, in San Francisco's South of Market (SOMA) neighborhood.
Screen-based kiosks in the front room present a wealth of free information, "more than anything they can get on the Internet," Jansen says. An impressive array of technology serves the customers. The SOMA Living Store is using two 233 MHz Pentium II processors-one for the File Server and for the Database Server.
Five 266 MHz Hewlett Packard Vectra Pentium II processor-based computers with 17" monitors are for use by customers in the Kiosks. There, the database-driven intranet supplies information about every available home in a neighborhood whether it's listed on the Multiple Listing Service (MLS), for sale by owners, newly constructed, or soon to be built. Three Buyer Agent offices have 133 MHz Pentium processor-based laptops connected to a 21" monitor for making on-line, in-store presentations to buyers. Not only can they feed information to customers in the store, they can videoconference with UT Mortgage Services for the latest information on mortgage rates and pre-approvals on loans for prospective buyers. They can also feed HTML-based information to the Web. What's unique about the store is that the consumer sees no salesperson at the beginning.
Free information as well as advice and guidance from a salaried Resource Coordinator and/or a Loan Counselor is available to anyone who walks in the door. They can take virtual tours of homes and neighborhoods on-screen. Information is available about market conditions.
Only when they are ready to actively seek a home do they select a Buyer's Agent and sign an Active Buyer's Agreement. Now they can arrange for pre-approved financing and visit the homes they want to see.
Full Service
If prospective buyers do not find homes they like on the first tour, SOMA Living keeps them in their database and constantly searches for homes that meet their criteria. Regular e-mails and other messages keep buyers up to date on the latest listings. When homebuyers locate the home they want, the Buyer's Agent brings in the Managing Broker who helps craft an offer, and negotiate the best deal possible. After the offer is accepted, the full-time, salaried Transaction Coordinator, in conjunction with the rest of the SOMA Living Home Team(Managing Broker, Buyer's Agent, and Loan Counselor) help the buyer through property inspection, title search, insurance, mortgage, moving, and anything else connected to that sale. Even after the papers are signed and buyers settle in, SOMA Living Active Home is available on-line and in person to help the homeowner access and retrieve pertinent documents, as well as information about maintenance, redecorating, and renovation. SOMA Living is the prototype for an expected 400+ similar retail outlets throughout the nation. "Response so far has been extraordinary," according to Jansen. New leads and prospective buyers appear every day. The most technologically advanced real estate idea has started well and the management team anticipates a bright future.
Bill Jansen
Executive Vice President
Pacific Union Real Estate
San Francisco, CA
Tel: (415) 929-7100
e-mail:bjansen@pacunion.com
Coming Next Week:
Case Study:Judy McCutcheon
Contributing Author
Michael J. Russer
Michael J. Russer, President of RUSSER Communications, is an internationally recognized speaker, writer, and strategic consultant for the real estate industry about the Internet. His 22 years experience in the real estate field include the development of marketing and software systems as CEO for a high-tech mortgage consulting firm he co-founded. Also an authority on Internet risk management, he recently authored the industry's first comprehensive Internet policies and procedures manual for those companies that have agents active on the Net. He can be reached at (805) 882-1170 or mrusser@russer.com.
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