The corporate’s booj platform debuted in 2019. Now, RE/MAX will supply related instruments by way of 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 top of the yr.
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,” based on a press release.
The assertion goes on to explain kvCORE as a “state-of-the-art” know-how platform that may grow 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 further price. The rollout is predicted to occur this yr and proceed into 2023.
Nonetheless, as a result of kvCORE consists of a wide range of instruments comparable to a man-made intelligence powered buyer relationship supervisor and customizable web sites, RE/MAX can even “sundown” booj and its merchandise by the center of subsequent yr.
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 know-how firm, on this case Inside Actual Property.
The pivot can 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 top of the yr, with impacted positions primarily in know-how.”
The assertion didn’t say if any layoffs had already taken place Thursday.
In an e-mail to Inman Thursday, an organization spokesperson stated that whereas it’s “all the time troublesome to half methods with succesful workforce members, this strategic operational resolution was made to assist guarantee RE/MAX, LLC gives its Dealer/House owners and brokers with the programs, know-how developments and scalability that greatest helps construct their companies.”
The spokesperson additionally stated “impacted staff have been notified” in regards to the lay offs.
RE/MAX first acquired first acquired booj, then a tech startup, in 2018. A few yr and a half later, RE/MAX launched its booj platform, which was meant to be an end-to-end resolution that will 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 best improve to our price proposition in our historical past,” Contos additional famous throughout a 2019 earnings name.
Booj was consequently a part of a significant 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 sort of holy grail.
RE/MAX’s pivot, nevertheless, hints at how troublesome such efforts have since confirmed to be, and the way with an ever-expanding roster of devoted tech firms it may be simpler to companion with an outdoor supplier.
Along with the top of booj and the ensuing layoffs, Thursday’s assertion from RE/MAX reveals that the corporate has additionally launched a pilot program meant to “appeal to and develop groups.” This system options “expanded schooling, improved know-how and enhanced economics that additional assist the expansion and profitability of groups and RE/MAX workplaces,” the assertion notes.
The corporate can be launching a program that may “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 “know-how 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 right now’s extremely aggressive market, a lot of the agent-facing know-how — CRM, web sites, and many others. — has grow 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 submit was up to date after publication with addition data from emailed feedback RE/MAX offered to Inman.
