Some real estate agents try to pull off a challenging feat after they connect with homebuyers: tugging them off listing portals onto agent-centric search tools.
This way, they can reduce the chances that customers will fall in love with potentially outdated listings or wander into the arms of a competitor, said co-founder Felipe Azenha, formerly senior manager of industry relations at Zillow Group for the Southeast U.S.
These professionals can use a number of collaborative search tools, which are often hosted by their MLS or brokerage’s website.
Gridics represents one of the most powerful options yet, serving up a dizzying array of search filters, property data and market reports.
Want to pan for the waterfront co-ops owned by Venezuelans? This is your ticket.
A Gridics search for Bay Front condos, co-ops, villas or townhouses owned by Venezuelans in a small section of Miami Beach.
“It’s kind of a mixture of what the consumers are using today versus the actual tools that the agents are using,” said Gridics CEO Jason Doyle.
To Miami and beyond
Gridics currently only covers the Miami area, but it has plans to expand to other markets. The Miami Association of Realtors (MAR) recently made Gridics available to all members for free. Gridics is also seeking to plug into other MLSs across the country.
Agents can access the tool within the association’s MLS to search, slice and dice listings, property records and neighborhood data.
They also can share access to the tool with others, inviting clients to perform searches under their watchful eye. In a collaborative search experience, both agent and client can share and comment on search queries, listings and other data.
Consumers can also sign up for Gridics without being invited by an agent, but they must pay $17 a month to access the same range of same features that MLS members get for free.
There’s also a premium version that costs $39 a month and lets users put the tool in the hands of more contacts and download bulk data.
In addition to powerful search options, Gridics provides penetrating insight into neighborhoods and markets.
You can drill down to the census block level — areas that may only include a couple hundred properties — and see median price, number of listings, recent sales, average size, local schools and nearby developments, among other things.
Users can easily convert the Gridics data into sharable reports, allowing agents to fire off valuable research to leads and clients.
Gridics profile on a single Miami Beach condo tower.
The startup wants to layer in more data, such as local crime and demographic data, but only in a way that jibes with agents and doesn’t flirt with fair housing laws, Doyle said.
