NEW YORK, NY, MAR 21, 2017 -- Compass, the technology-driven real estate company, today unveiled its latest development in the mission to modernize residential real estate with the launch of Collections. The first truly interactive online home search tool, Collections allows homebuyers and their agents the ability to organize, monitor, discuss and collaborate on a hand-picked portfolio of properties.
Designed to marry high-tech and high-touch, Collections brings together the control homebuyers and sellers have come to expect in following property listings online with the expertise of the real estate agent in recommending homes that meet unique criteria. Collections gives agents tools to share real-time updates such as availability and pricing changes, and for agent and client to communicate on individual listings as well as the overall search.
While 51% of consumers find the home they eventually purchase online, 88% rely on the expertise of an agent to aid them in that search, according to data from the National Association of Realtors. Collections represents a major improvement in client-agent communication and an easier, streamlined way to manage the home search process online.
"Collections is the real estate industry's answer to the modern way people like to shop. Today, everything is about curation and personalization. With that in mind, we set out to build an intuitive and visually compelling way for clients and consumers to search for a home and interact with our agents," says Leonard Steinberg, the country's top-rated real estate agent and President of Compass. "Collections helps the homebuyer feel in control of the process and makes searching for or selling a home less cumbersome and more enjoyable." View Leonard's Collection of his favorite downtown New York penthouses here.
A beta version of the product was rolled out to Compass' nearly 1,400 agents and their clients in November of 2016. Collections has seen impressive engagement with almost 90% of agent teams and 10,000 clients already using the tool.
Collections' key features allow home buyers and sellers to:
Organize Listings: Choose a group of properties to start a Collection using Compass' search tools. Listings can be added or removed from a Collection at any time.
Monitor Properties: Stay updated on pricing and availability of properties included in a Collection. Manage the frequency and delivery method of alerts.
Discuss Homes of Interest: Start a conversation with an agent on an individual listing or start a discussion on the overall Collection.
Collaborate with Friends and Family: Invite your spouse, parents or interior designer to join the Collection and engage in the discussion or their own properties for consideration.
Collections also acts as a modern marketing tool for agents in their client management and new business development efforts. With Collections agents can:
Showcase comparably priced properties to clients in the midst of a negotiation process.
Better manage communications with traditionally hard-to-reach buyers such as overseas multi-generational and spousal clients who want to share in the decision making.
Create a publicly-shareable Collection with new clients to showcase their market expertise.
