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This article was updated on Sept. 6, 2022
Localize is a consumer home search resource and lead engagement solution for the real estate industry.
Platforms: Browser; iOS
Ideal for: All agents, brokerages and consumers
Top selling points:
- “Hunter” home search automation
- Extensive buyer profiles
- Detailed buyer activity tracking
- Heavily lifestyle-driven search
- Full parity mobile app
Top concerns:
While providing a smart, modern home search tool and lead-tracking functionality, Localize has been relegated to New York City since its inception a few years ago. It seems to remain entrenched there, despite stating its desire to expand. The product has evolved considerably. I’d like to see scaling become a point of emphasis, as the market for New York-only search tools is beyond saturated.
What you should know
Agents use Localize HQ to check in on what Hunter is uncovering about their database as it oversees prospect activity. It can work with any lead source, as Localize doesn’t offer hard lead-gen but instead clever, ongoing honing of your database.
The software has undergone a rather significant overhaul since this review originally published in 2019. Its interface has benefited from a couple of years of user feedback and market insight and looks great, helping drive an agent user experience through Localize HQ that I hope manages to stick around long enough for the company to push into new markets.
It should be noted, however, that if your goal is to build a great — not good — consumer search tool, there are few better markets in which to test your approach than New York. From its widely varied neighborhood profiles to unique property types and scattered data resources, it’s no easy feat to code a search tool with the detail and understanding of humanity that Localize displays.
The home information Hunter pulls from people gets translated into icons, notes and updates and fed into Localize HQ, the agent’s window into the system. The software builds detailed buyer profiles, illustrating their level of engagement, and tagging budget, time frame, mortgage qualification, home type and other such basic parameters.
It also shares the little things that typically drive buying choices, such as nearby school quality, proximity to parks, cycling accessibility, dog parks and local construction trends. There are als sunlight charts, notes on roof-top characteristics and what kind of storage a building offers.
Using practical iconography and illustrations, Localize makes it easy for people to search for homes and for the agents working with them to know where they might look next.
Agents also benefit from incorporated task lists, a flexible buyer pipeline and a listings explorer that feeds properties to the user based on what the buyer has been reacting to during the relationship.
People are sorted by who’s been actively seeing homes, been subject to Hunter’s nurture tactics and for how long, or who’s made an offer. It also sorts folks who have been on a tour. Homes seen by each lead are listed according to date, with property images, price and other details easily read.
Don’t confuse Localize with a CRM, though. Its intent is to build relationships, but it’s not aiming to replace an existing system, and it’s much more hands-off than most products in that category.
I envision Localize as a valuable accessory tool for active agents, for those who don’t need to spend all day perusing a giant database for what to do each morning. For the right agent in New York looking for a lightweight option that isn’t something competitors are using, Localize could function as a primary business support tool, assuming you have a healthy lead-gen habit.
Localize’s blending of customer engagement intelligence and local market wisdom helps elevate it into its unique niche. However, I need to see it grow to give it top billing. It’s darn close, though.
Craig C. Rowe started in commercial real estate at the dawn of the dot-com boom, helping an array of commercial real estate companies fortify their online presence and analyze internal software decisions. He now helps agents with technology decisions and marketing through reviewing software and tech for Inman.
