BPP Newsletter: January 2018
Why Brokers Should Support the BPP
Alon Chaver, Chief Information Officer of HomeServices of America, a Berkshire Hathaway affiliate, answered four questions about the BPP and why brokers should get onboard.
Why should brokers support the BPP?
Chaver: While real estate is fundamentally local, the emergence of national consumer brands in real estate makes it imperative that brokers and agents build a national brand presence. By building a unique brand proposition driven by real estate practitioners, the industry is establishing a direct national relationship with real estate consumers which is designed to complement local broker brands.
As the consumer landscape evolves, brokers and MLSs who govern the BPP together will evolve the BPP experience to effectively connect consumers with local real estate professionals when they are ready to transact.
How does the BPP coexist with existing broker apps and websites?
Chaver: Competing successfully in the real estate industry today requires a highly synergistic relationship between national and local brands. This is being done successfully by car brands, who compete with each other nationally to build consumer loyalty and then direct those consumers to local dealerships who can serve these consumers in their local communities. The national brand and the local brands have a complementary message that is reinforced at both levels, especially when local brokers take advantage of the broker branding options available throughout Homesnap.
The current relationship between local brokerages and MLSs supporting the BPP allows Homesnap and the BPP to help build consumer loyalty nationally and drive these consumers to local real estate agents who can serve them in their local communities. Thus, the relationship between the BPP and local broker apps and websites is not competitive, but is instead complementary and collaborative, with both parties working toward the same goal.
How will the BPP compete with large portals like Zillow?
Chaver: The mission of the BPP and the goal of its JV with Homesnap is to create a home search experience driven by people who sell homes, not ads, and to provide a clean and simple alternative to consumers who are currently bombarded by ads, listings of various statuses, and a lot of clutter.
The BPP offers what we, the people who sell homes, believe is a far superior home search experience, which creates a more competitive consumer experience on its own merits. We also believe that building trust with agents and empowering them to invite their clients to the BPP experience is a powerful, organic way to build consumer loyalty nationwide.
Where do you see the BPP fitting into the future of the industry?
Chaver: The BPP is an unprecedented example of two types of collaboration in the real estate industry: between MLSs and brokers, and between the real estate industry and a best-in-class technology partner. This is a collaboration at a level that has not previously been accomplished, and its current success will change the future of the industry by demonstrating that different segments of the industry can work together with great success.
The BPP is proving that brokers and MLSs, working together in collaboration with a best-in-class technology partner, Homesnap, can provide an exceptional consumer experience. Driven by people who sell homes, this pristine alternative to the current solutions in the portal landscape is connecting home sellers and buyers with local broker brands and their agents by providing them with accurate and timely information – nothing more, nothing less. Homeownership provides economic opportunity to so many people in this country, and the unique collaboration behind the BPP will allow the real estate industry to continue to serve as a force for economic value creation.
My Florida Regional MLS Joins the BPP!
We are excited to announce that My Florida Regional MLS has joined the Broker Public Portal and will launch Homesnap to agents and consumers at the end of January. MFRMLS is the largest MLS in Florida with more than 48,000 members throughout Central and Southwest Florida, including Tampa and Orlando.