SAN FRANCISCO — The wave of innovation sweeping the real estate industry continues to empower consumers and reshape the way real estate agents do business.
Today, a group of startups riding the real estate tech wave took the stage at Real Estate Connect to pitch their products in Part 1 of the “New Kids on the Block” panel.
A roundup of the companies:
- HouseCall: An Uber-like app launched in November 2013, HouseCall lets consumers schedule appointments with home professionals, including electricians, plumbers and landscapers. The app recently launched a feature that lets agents share their preferred vendors with clients, and another that lets consumers request showings on demand from agents.
- Updater: A National Association of Realtors-backed app that closed an $8 million funding round in April, Updater offers a platform that lets users seamlessly update their addresses on over 10,000 accounts and subscriptions, file their official U.S. Postal Service mail-forwarding form, and transfer and connect utilities among other address-change tasks. For $149 a year, an agent may send an unlimited number of clients emails inviting them to use a version of Updater that’s branded with the agent’s headshot and contact information.
- Lenda: Lenda, the “Turbo Tax for mortgage,” wants to help consumers “fire their loan officers” by enabling borrowers to complete the home loan process online from start to finish. The company’s platform lets borrowers view rate quotes, apply for a loan, sign lender disclosures, upload or snap photos of their documents, receive real-time status updates, and process and close the loan.
- Lumentus: Lumentus offers a social media management platform that curates real estate content for agents and allows them to seamlessly publish that content across their social media networks.
- “Online town square” WikiRealty crowdsources information from professionals in all facets of the real estate industry in order to bring the sort of insider information to consumers that they traditionally can glean only from face-to-face interactions with locals.
- Porch: Porch is an online remodeling network that claims to offer data on 90 million home projects and 1.5 million professionals. The site lets homeowners pinpoint professionals who specialize in their neighborhoods, and view those professionals’ project histories. Since launching late last year with $6.5 million in seed funding, the company has formed partnerships with realtor.com and Lowe’s.
