The corporate’s booj platform debuted in 2019. Now, RE/MAX will provide comparable instruments through kvCORE, a platform from tech firm Inside Actual Property.
Actual property franchisor RE/MAX introduced Thursday that it plans to close down booj, a as soon as hotly anticipated in-house end-to-end tech platform, and cut back its workforce by 17 p.c by the tip of the 12 months.
The tip of booj is occurring as a result of RE/MAX has entered into an “enterprise-wide relationship with Inside Actual Property, the builders of kvCORE,” in response to an announcement.
The assertion goes on to explain kvCORE as a “state-of-the-art” expertise platform that can turn out to be out there to all “RE/MAX associates in company-owned areas throughout the U.S. and Canada.” Firm associates will get kvCORE at no extra value. The rollout is predicted to occur this 12 months and proceed into 2023.
Nonetheless, as a result of kvCORE consists of a wide range of instruments akin to a synthetic intelligence powered buyer relationship supervisor and customizable web sites, RE/MAX may even “sundown” booj and its merchandise by the center of subsequent 12 months.
All of which is to say that RE/MAX goes to pivot from utilizing in-house tech for its all-in-one platform to partnering with a devoted expertise firm, on this case Inside Actual Property.
The pivot may even imply job cuts, with the assertion noting that RE/MAX “expects to cut back the scale of its workforce by roughly 17 p.c by the tip of the 12 months, with impacted positions primarily in expertise.”
The assertion didn’t say if any layoffs had already taken place Thursday.
In an e mail to Inman Thursday, an organization spokesperson mentioned that whereas it’s “at all times tough to half methods with succesful staff members, this strategic operational determination was made to assist guarantee RE/MAX, LLC offers its Dealer/Homeowners and brokers with the methods, expertise developments and scalability that greatest helps construct their companies.”
The spokesperson additionally mentioned “impacted workers have been notified” concerning the lay offs.
RE/MAX first acquired first acquired booj, then a tech startup, in 2018. A few 12 months and a half later, RE/MAX launched its booj platform, which was meant to be an end-to-end resolution that may streamline the expertise of its brokers. On the time of the launch, then-CEO Adam Contos described it as “a landmark second within the lengthy historical past of our firm.”
“The introduction of the booj platform is arguably the one biggest improve to our price proposition in our historical past,” Contos additional famous throughout a 2019 earnings name.
Booj was consequently a part of a serious development that noticed actual property heavyweights racing to develop their very own end-to-end platforms. Again in 2020, Inman described this push because the seek for a form of holy grail.
RE/MAX’s pivot, nonetheless, hints at how tough such efforts have since confirmed to be, and the way with an ever-expanding roster of devoted tech corporations it may be simpler to companion with an outdoor supplier.
Along with the tip of booj and the ensuing layoffs, Thursday’s assertion from RE/MAX reveals that the corporate has additionally launched a pilot program meant to “entice and develop groups.” This system options “expanded schooling, improved expertise and enhanced economics that additional assist the expansion and profitability of groups and RE/MAX workplaces,” the assertion notes.
The corporate can also be launching a program that can “assist brokerages convert to the RE/MAX community or mix forces with an current RE/MAX franchise.”
Nick Bailey
In Thursday’s assertion, Nick Bailey — president and CEO of RE/MAX LLC — struck an optimistic tone, saying that “expertise has been and can proceed to be foundational to our one-of a-kind worth proposition.” He additionally described tech as “not a vacation spot” however as an alternative “a journey.”
“In as we speak’s extremely aggressive market, a lot of the agent-facing expertise — CRM, web sites, and so forth. — has turn out to be desk stakes,” Bailey continued. “That’s why I’m thrilled to announce the following step within the RE/MAX technological evolution. Partnering with a number one actual property software program agency like Inside Actual Property — which has the scale, scale and experience to develop world class agent tech instruments – offers us much more firepower to ship to associates.”
Replace: This put up was up to date after publication with addition info from emailed feedback RE/MAX supplied to Inman.
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