Julie Faupel started in the hospitality industry. Before she launched her successful real estate brokerage in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, Faupel worked with top hotels where she was able to create—and recreate—guest experiences across properties.
“We could replicate the stay of a guest whether she was in Paris, New York, or Des Moines,” Faupel said. “We could provide the same style of suite, the same sheets, the same exact breakfast… because we had the data.” But the same isn’t true in the real estate industry. “We don’t capitalize on any of the information that we have. Instead, we force our clients to re-educate us in every market they go into.”
Faupel set out to change that with REALM™ Global. As founder and CEO, she knew she wanted to build something in service to the agent, which in turn would create for the client that truly customized experience.
Technology to enhance—not replace—relationships
The REALM platform is about data. It collects and encrypts the agent’s client information. Then it augments the profiles with lifestyle affinities from publicly available data. Attributes such as being an art collector, a triathlete, or a die-hard fan of Dobermans are added to client profiles, making them more specific and robust.
The platform pulls in listings the same way, tagging those aspects of the property in the listing data. It then matches the property attributes to the lifestyle affinities of the client.
“Imagine I have a beautiful mountain home with an amazing wine cellar,” Faupel described. “It’s very possible someone like Gary Gold, a founding member, has a client in his database that matches those affinities. With REALM, he would be alerted that there’s a property well-suited to one of his clients, and as the listing agent, I would be alerted that I have a match for one of my listings.”
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Many people imagine luxury real estate is simply 500 of the richest people in the world, and they all know each other. Faupel knows it doesn’t work like that. “Many of these people don’t know that they’re in the market until they’re inspired. Until suddenly you put something in front of them that fits their lifestyle. And that’s what REALM does: it connects all those things together and ultimately, it makes relationships happen between agents.”
By invitation only
Rather than open the platform to anyone who would apply, the REALM team invited five founding members to try it out and help shape the technology. Then those members were asked who they would personally like to invite. The result is a limited but legendary database of top performers across franchises and affiliations.
“Our members are people who like working together. It doesn’t matter what brand they’re with or what market they belong to,” Faupel said. “And the result has been amazing.”
Annual membership is $500 a month, or a single investment of $5,000. There is no referral fee and the platform never gets in the way of the transaction. “What we really want to do is facilitate relationships,” she continued, “and we want to build a next-level experience for agents and their clients.
Curated content that keeps the conversation going
As part of the patented lifestyle-matching technology, REALM also has a content integration tool to help agents share valuable information along the interest lines of their clients.
“We have a strategic partnership with Luxe magazine that tags the publication’s content the same way listings are tagged,” described Faupel. “So when I scroll over an article on neoclassical architecture, REALM will alert me to specific clients that would like it. I can write a quick note and then send it out. So I don’t blast houses to my sphere of influence. My clients know that I know them. The technology empowers me to create a more personal relationship.”
Learn more about REALM Global