Sell your house on your iPhone?
Tech-savvy Millennials have the power to change how real estate works.
For the second year in a row, Millennials have led all age groups in home purchases, according to the 2015 National Association of Realtors Buyer and Seller Generational Trends study.
So it's no surprise that a growing number of digitally inclined real estate companies are ready and willing to serve. OpenDoor, Xome and Redfin are all mobilizing the process. In addition, mobile app SQFT (pronounced square foot) joined the party, going national in May.
Aside from the tech appeal, these services are all about simplifying and saving money.
Here is how the process worked for one buyer and one seller.
Who: Adam Buchanan, 31, of Kaysville, Utah, a social media marketer and beekeeper
What: He sold his home entirely on his iPhone using SQFT, a new mobile app that charges ideally as little as 2% in fees (1% to list the home on MLS, Zillow, Redfin and the other sites, and 1% to the buyer's agent — and if the buyer comes directly through the SQFT app without a buyer's agent, the total commission is only 1%). He saved about $9,000 on the $300,000 sale.
Where: The home he sold was in Denver.
When: Closed in May.
How did it go? "Very smooth." Buchanan says his wife was skeptical, but he's a huge fan of automating and simplifying. "As a seller, from a logistical standpoint, with SQFT, it's very streamlined." Everything was done via text, phone and email. Although SQFT took care of the photos (it's included in the listing fee), he created the listing himself, got the home ready to go on the market and took care of the showings. Denver is a hot market, so after three days and about 15 showings, all arranged via text, the home was under contract. Buchanan was concerned about the paperwork, but when the time came, "They acted very much like a traditional Realtor. They took care of all that."
Why: With student debt, three kids and a fourth on the way, "I thought, for a little bit of risk on a DIY approach, we could really come out on top. And we did." Buchanan paid off some debt and his car and rolled some of his savings into his next house and starting an online venture to network with beekeepers buying and selling their local honey.
Bottom line: "We are now entering a very customer-centric generation of services and products. The power that consumers have is now really outstanding."
Who: Isaac Kearns, 31, procurement manager
What: Bought his house through Redfin, a brokerage whose agents earn customer-satisfaction bonuses, not commissions, passing on those savings to customers. He sold for $315,000 and got about $1,800 cash back at closing with Redfin's refund program. It was his second home purchase: The first time he went the traditional route.
Where: Des Moines, Wash., south of Seattle.
When: Closed at the end of May.
How did it go? "It was better than the first time I bought. It was a terrific experience. Their whole process is much more customer-focused."
Why: "Consumers do it mostly themselves anyway." The first time around, he went online and checked out the area on his own: the schools, crime rates and the houses he was interested in. Then, after doing his own legwork, he fed all that information to his Realtor to set up showings. That's one area that Kearns liked much better with Redfin. While he had a Redfin agent he was working with, he could set up his own showings using a variety of Redfin associates. "They have a whole team to show up whenever you want. You can tour 30 homes if you want to. You can book tours so easily."
Bottom line: He ended up using about five different associates to show him about 20 homes, and then his own agent was there to answer questions, attend the home inspection and help with closing. "I didn't get any less service with this. Actually I probably got more. And I got cash back from Redfin. It was kind of a no-brainer."