Amazon is partnering with Realogy to further immerse itself in real estate

The country's largest residential real estate broker has partnered with the world's largest online retailer as part of a strategy designed to increase sales of both.

Realogy and Amazon will now offer TurnKey, a program that allows potential buyers to access residential property through the Amazon portal and connect them to a Realogy agent. Once they've bought a home, they receive free Amazon Home Services and products worth up to $ 5,000.

Realogy, which owns brands such as Coldwell Banker, Century 21, Sotheby's International Realty, Corcoran, ERA and Better Homes and Real Estate Gardens, has been facing stiff competition from newcomers such as Compbad and Redfin, all two highly dependent on high technology. , online platforms. The partnership with Amazon offers Realogy a unique platform, not to mention access to more buyer data.

"We are the market leaders in this industry and we like this position, but you still need to innovate to stay ahead, you have to be willing to cannibalize yourself, you have to do everything that is important successful business needs to do to stay on the cutting edge "said Ryan Schneider, CEO of Realogy.

"In a flooded world of poor quality prospect generation, where you can get real estate leads from millions of online websites, give an agent and franchisees high quality leads from a source such as Amazon and Realogy is a differentiator that will be very powerful for the group.

A potential buyer will go to the TurnKey portal on Amazon and indicate the type of house they wish to buy, its location and price. Amazon then compares them to a Realogy agent. Once the buyer closes at home, Amazon puts them in touch with services and experts from the area. The buyer not only gets a selection of Amazon Home services, such as painting or hanging a large TV, but also access to smart home products, such as a ringing bell, to be professionally installed Amazon. The value of free products and services can range from $ 1,000 to $ 5,000 depending on the purchase price of the home.

"Customers can be overwhelmed when they move, and we're excited to be working with Realogy to provide buyers with a simplified solution for moving to a new home," said Pat Bigatel, Director of Amazon Home Services. "The Amazon Move-In Advantage will allow hosting buyers to tailor the offer to their needs – from help with mounting furniture to setting up smart devices, deep cleaning, etc.

One of the country's largest homebuilders, Lennar, has partnered with Amazon in 2018 to create "showrooms of experience" for smart homes. Amazon has equipped Lennar model homes with smart home technology available for purchase on its site. In a show-and-sell strategy, Lennar then offered 90 days of free services to Amazon homes when buying a home.

"Amazon, Google, Apple, most technology-based companies are starting to see the home as a central part of how they envision the future of how their products work and interact with them." said Stuart Miller, leader. Lennar chairman, in an interview in May 2018. "Home automation is a pole of attraction.This is a substitute for many other things."

TurnKey will launch in 15 major metropolitan housing markets, including Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Dallas, Chicago and Washington, DC Schneider said it was planning to expand on others markets. It did not however suggest that it's a springboard for putting Realogy brokerage listings on Amazon.

"We have never had this conversation with Amazon," he said.