BLOG & NEWSROOM

Published by Paige Tepping January 10, 2017 via RISMedia RealEstate magzine

Today’s real estate professionals have their work cut out for them when it comes to determining which tools, technologies and platforms are best for their specific needs. But, for Candace Adams, president and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices New England and Westchester Properties in Wallingford, Conn., when making any decision, it all boils down to one thing: customization.

That’s exactly why she chose to integrate Buyside’s technology platform into the mix. Buyside is an up-and-coming vendor that unlocks the power of buyer data so real estate brokerages can win more listings, become more profitable and command greater control over their inventory.

Intrigued by Buyside’s solution and the fact that it could be customized and integrated into Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices New England and Westchester Properties’ current practices to provide a great experience for their agents and clients, Adams was hooked.

In fact, Adams notes, they took Buyside’s product and merged it with one of their proprietary platforms—customizing and branding it with their Buyer Connect program.

“Buyside is an example of a vendor whose technology is open and flexible,” says Adams, who goes on to explain that the ability to customize the platform shows just how in tune the team is with the needs of today’s brokers.

Having launched the platform just one month ago (at press time), the excitement among the firm’s 1,800 agents is palpable.

“It’s been very successful,” says Adams. “Agents can now log in to a personalized dashboard and see which other agents in the organization have buyers that match their listings. From there, they can personally reach out to that agent and say, “I have a great seller and listing, and I see that you have a buyer that matches.’ Not only has this heightened the awareness of the inventory and buyers out there, but it’s also been instrumental in helping agents get their properties sold.”

And with 100,000+ registered buyers on the brokerage’s website, the importance of buyer data can’t be overlooked. “Leveraging Buyside’s data has given us the opportunity to measure what’s currently happening in the marketplace, providing the confidence to accurately pinpoint which market segment is performing at the moment,” adds Adams. “More importantly, this gives our agents the ability to go out and sit down with prospective sellers and show them exactly how much demand exists for their home. This is an enormous advantage we now have over our competitors.”

“Leveraging Buyside’s data has given us the opportunity to measure what’s currently happening in the marketplace, providing the confidence to accurately pinpoint which market segment is performing at the moment.”

– Candace Adams, President/CEO, Berkshire Hathaway HomeService

Working with Buyside has also upped the firm’s competitive edge within the markets they serve across Connecticut, Rhode Island and Westchester County, N.Y. “The Buyside platform allows our agents to preemptively be out there with the product, with a clear sense as to which buyers are registered for certain homes,” says Adams. “The minute they’re listed, we have active buyers ready to go.”

But it doesn’t end there. According to Adams, the home valuation feature is another big part of the Buyside product, providing consumers the ability to value their property with three different AVMs.

“Once we see that someone has visited our site and signed up for a home valuation, we take this one step further by asking if they’d like to be contacted on a monthly basis with an updated valuation, securing the relationship with the agent right away. Not only is this something consumers are looking for, but it also goes a long way toward driving them to our site and becoming clients of ours.

“We’re happy to be working with Buyside, as they have a good understanding of our business,” concludes Adams. “They’re really good to work with, and they’ve been accommodating to our needs from the beginning.”