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Real estate's new purple cow is green

By Jessica Swesey, Monday, March 17, 2008.

You might say that real estate franchise giant Realogy's newest darling, Better Homes & Gardens, is in the womb right now.

The company is set to launch in July, but its mother is definitely showing and we're now getting hints of the brand at BH&G's new blog.

Number one: BH&G is angling a green approach, something that so far hasn't really been done in a big way in the real estate industry. (By taking a green approach, we also surmise that the company is aiming for the younger crowd with which green practices seem to resonate most.)

Number two: The company seems to have a focus on being forward-looking, not just looking forward. There's already some talk of the importance of social media at the BH&G blog. And company officials have not refrained from throwing "purple cow" into the vernacular. "Purple cow" is Seth Godin's famous coin for being remarkable in business.

So what's it like to be launching a real estate company in the middle of what many veterans say is the worst housing market they can remember? On the surface it looks like these folks are having a lot of fun. (Notice the executives hamming it up in the photo here, found on the BH&G blog.) But stay tuned as Inman News follows the BH&G launch story this spring and summer for a deeper look at what this company is doing.

 

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Submitted by on March 17, 2008 - 3:00pm.

I had the pleasure of briefly meeting Sherry Chris at Connect NYC. She clearly "gets it". BH&G has "instant" (and good) brand recognition and will likely be quite a player.

It's not the easiest time to open a large brokerage house, or even small independent :) but the strong, and those willing to do things a little (or a lot) differently will survive.

The "green thing" is interesting. I haven't see the green fever here, at least not to the degree it is in other places. Yet.

Jay Thompson
Broker / Owner
Thompson's Realty

Blog: www.PhoenixRealEstateGuy.com

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Submitted by on March 17, 2008 - 3:24pm.

The green angle will play very nicely here on in Portland I suspect... I wonder if BHG is coming to Oregon?

Joel
Future of Real Estate Marketing

 
Submitted by on March 19, 2008 - 1:05am.

There has been quite a movement in Green construction and LEED certified properties. Locally her in San Francisco the Mayor has proposed to standardize "Green" construction, giving us the greenest skyline in the world. The ordinance calls for "all new residential and commercial buildings to meet internationally recognized standards for energy and water efficiency, recycling, pollution control and other environmental measures."

Brad Coy
Realtor/VP www.sfres.com
EcoBroker/Contributor www.thedailygreen.com

 
Submitted by on March 20, 2008 - 11:27pm.

Wondering how this morning's Realogy news (http://www.inman.com/news/2008/03/20/realogy-reports-loss-declining-reve...) plays into the picture.

Susie Blackmon
http://www.BuckingtheRealEstateTrend.com