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Aalto is a non-traditional, technology-driven real estate brokerage.
Platforms: Browser; mobile
Ideal for: Buyer agents; agents seeking alternative business models
Top selling points:
- Salaried model
- 1.5 percent rebate, 2 percent list fee
- App-based communications, workflows
- No touring homes
- Automated property, market demand reports
- Proprietary technology
Top concern(s):
Although Aalto has been working since well before recent commission lawsuits and upheaval, it will likely be mischaracterized by agents who will view it as a pop-up alternative model to pull in an increasingly confused consumer base.
What you should know
Aalto is another new way for buyers and agents to interact during the homebuying process. The company is, at its heart, a brokerage, but with twice the number of people coding and designing than advising, it has a better argument for being labeled a technology company than Keller Williams and certainly Compass.
It uses a team of agents to assist buyers as they search and decide, and then one serves as a primary once an offer is submitted via the platform. Sellers can also list with Aalto to test the “non-MLS” market and possibly receive offers from Aalto users. Once enough interest is garnered, a seller may choose to formally list with the company.
The company is only licensed in California at the moment, practicing in the Bay Area and its larger surrounding counties, such as Sonoma and Marin.
According to its website, “Aalto’s team of licensed agents are all former traditional agents with 500+ transactions and $1B+ in sales in California.” Around that team, the company built a mobile app and browser experience on par with most of the proptechs I’ve reviewed of late.
Aalto is heavily consumer-leaning and directs buyers through every step using workflows inspired by (and integrated with internally) the likes of Zendesk and other project-management solutions.
Its home search is IDX-backed and any home of interest can generate a CMA-like Aalto Report that along with common market data, includes demand graphs and granular property insights.
The company eschews conducting home tours, something I think is worthy of testing. It relies on broker tours and open houses for its customers to view the home.
Remember, buyers have untold amounts of data available to them. From portal apps to Instagram feeds, an active buyer is being throttled with algorithm-led real estate information.
Provided they bounce what they learn off of their Aalto agent, let them thrive in it. The agent doesn’t need to open doors to provide value, and I like that Aalto is taking that bet. If the listing agent wants to sell it, they’ll get it shown.
Communication is handled via chat and the application’s features, allowing for a fast and responsive experience, the type of attentive back-and-forth that many of today’s consumers expect in a business transaction.
This also means that Aalto’s audience may be limited, as we all know that specific demographics will demand in-person meetings, phone calls and a more traditional relationship model. That’s fine — the market needs alternatives. It’s not for everyone.
The offer process is consumer-led, collapsed into a sequence of Q&As that later gets presented in full legal form for pre-submission review when scheduled with an Aalto agent.
Financial documentation is uploaded and submitted securely through the app, “using industry-leading AES-256 encryption for data in flight and at rest, with a robust, regular key rotation policy to ensure the confidentiality of its customers’ data. Access is restricted to the individual uploader and relevant Aalto staff,” the company states.
Once all is in place, an offer can be formally submitted to the appropriate listing agent. Inspections are ordered and later summarized by areas of major concern with recommendations on what may merit a credit or additional negotiation. Buyers can access the full report at any time.
The company’s CEO told me that Aalto’s goal is to “build a product that people want to pay for,” something I took as a less-than-nuanced comment on the current state of consumer opinion on legacy real estate models.
Maybe I’m projecting, but if not, he’s right. Consumers don’t really understand how the commission process works, they only know they have to pay for something, and the lawsuits that prove that are piling up. Aalto is not the first to market with a tech-first, salaried agent model, but it is one of the better ones, and its timing is outstanding.
If it markets its value proposition accordingly and the real estate economy cooperates, there could be some real traction gained here. Aalto doesn’t have to upset the industry to be a success; it merely needs to give the buyers and sellers who want an alternative a place to turn to. And I’m not seeing any reason why they can’t.
Like it or not, consumers are changing how they expect service from business partners, and it’s not only a real estate thing, it’s merely the industry’s turn. It’s not the fault of an attorney or an Inman headline or Zillow or iBuyers. If you want to blame someone or something, look to your national leadership.
Bring a shovel to the meeting, though, because a lot of sand has to be moved to reach them at eye level.
Have a technology product you would like to discuss? Email Craig Rowe
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.