Move has acquired real estate agent marketplace UpNest for an undisclosed amount, according to an announcement on Wednesday.
UpNest founder and CEO Simon Ru and his 50-person team will each maintain their positions as the company is integrated into Move.
Simon Ru
“UpNest has helped hundreds of thousands of people sell their homes with the help of top agents over the past eight years,” Ru said in a written statement. “We’re excited to join the Realtor.com family. Realtor.com’s audience reach and strong customer base will help us connect even more sellers with the agents who can best help them.”
Founded in 2013, UpNest connects homebuyers and homesellers with top-producing UpNest partner agents in their markets. Partner agents must have a minimum of three to five years of experience, close a minimum of six to 12 transactions within 12 months of their application, and demonstrate a mastery of sales, marketing and communication skills.
Consumers will receive personalized quotes from nearby listing and buyers’ agents, which may include competitive commission rates and buyer commission refunds in allowable states. From there, consumers are able to choose which agent they’d like to work with and continue the transaction as normal.
The platform is free for consumers, however, real estate agents must pay a referral fee at closing. UpNest charges a 30 percent referral fee for seller leads and a 15 percent referral fee for buyer leads, which gives buyers’ agents room to offer a rebate.
If a partner agent closes more than one transaction with a consumer within 18 months of submitting a proposal, UpNest will charge a 30 percent fee on each additional sale, the company explained.
UpNest has made several industry-best lists including HousingWire’s 2021 Tech 100. “[They’ve] facilitated $10B+ in home listings and delivered over $50M in commission savings and rebates to home buyers and sellers,” HousingWire said of the company.
David Doctorow
Realtor.com CEO David Doctorow said UpNest will be a valuable asset to its ReadyConnect Concierge and Seller’s Marketplace platforms, both of which connect consumers with qualified real estate agents and enable them to compare transaction options, such as iBuying or buy-now-sell-later.
“Our open marketplace approach is all about empowering people with choices,” he said. “While some of our competitors try to funnel buyers, sellers and real estate professionals into a specific set of services in a closed system, Realtor.com helps homeowners choose how they want to find and connect with an agent, and agents and brokers can decide which methods work best for them.”
He added, “UpNest has a proven track record of successfully connecting homeowners looking to sell with the right agent for them, and we believe that its innovative model complements our existing ReadyConnect Concierge program.”
The UpNest marketplace will continue to operate through its current site as Move tests the consumer and agent experiences on both marketplaces to “determine when and how to best provide these different experiences to home buyers and sellers,” a company spokesperson said.
“Our goal is to empower people with choices for how they want to buy and sell, and give our customers options for how they want to build their business,” they said.
