Buy a house at your local grocery
RE/MAX of New England will open 17 'micro' offices
By Andrea V. Brambila, Thursday, January 28, 2010.
Flickr photo by iboy_daniel.Some consumers will now be able to go to their local supermarket and pick up a more substantial purchase than dinner -- a house.
RE/MAX of New England is teaming up with a large supermarket chain to open "micro" real estate offices in grocery stores, the franchise real estate brokerage announced this week.
The company has signed an exclusive, five-year agreement with Quincy, Mass.-based Stop and Shop Inc., one of the largest supermarket chains in New England with more than 375 stores throughout New England, New York and New Jersey, according to Stop and Shop's Web site.
"The (real estate offices) will be at the front of the store. We wanted to have facilities where we could have additional awareness to our brand and our agents. Stop and Shops have such a large traffic volume that they seemed to be a perfect fit," said Jay Hummer, executive vice president of RE/MAX of New England.
RE/MAX plans to open 17 micro offices within the first year: 15 in Massachusetts, one in Connecticut, and one in Rhode Island. The first one will open in about four months at a yet-to-be-determined location, Hummer said.
The company envisions that the offices will expand awareness of their brand and services.
"I don't think anybody is going to go in for a loaf of bread and come out with a colonial," Hummer said. "(But) will somebody who's shopping for dinner go in to view some homes through remax.com? Yeah, probably. Will they ask an agent a real estate question? Yeah, probably that, too."
Consumers will have access to computers connected to remax.com, and, per the agreement, the offices will be open at least 50 hours a week.
Office size will be somewhere between 200 and 400 square feet, compared to a typical RE/MAX office, which is typically between 1,000 and 10,000 square feet. Offices will be prefabricated, with identical furniture and layouts in order to give customers a uniform experience and cut down on costs for franchisees.
All franchisees have to do is add staff, Hummer said. ...CONTINUED
All rights reserved. This content may not be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever, in part or in whole, without written permission of Inman News. Use of this content without permission is a violation of federal copyright law.
You must login or register to post a comment.
Submitted by Larry Whited Sr. on January 28, 2010 - 4:46am.
This will be very interesting to watch.
If agents don’t get quality leads quickly they will not “volunteer” to spend their time in that location.
Who will be the first to open in Wal*Mart :-)
Larry A. Whited, Sr., CRB, CRS, GRI
President & Founder
www.maxUnet.com & www.WebMLS.net
A Virtual Real Estate Franchise System
** We will sell your home for as little as 2% + $500. Includes full service and MLS **
P.O. Box 757
West Chester Ohio
Submitted by Jay Thompson on January 28, 2010 - 5:29am.
"Hi, welcome to Stop and Shop! Would you like to buy or sell a home today?"
Personally, I think it's kind of silly. Seems like "shotgun" exposure. Blast away and hope you hit something. The odds of someone randomly deciding to look at homes while they buy groceries seems slim.
I'd think there would be better ways to target your exposure.
Time will tell I suppose.
Larry - WalMart was tried out here a coupe of years ago. That didn't last. ( http://www.azcentral.com/realestate/articles/1216biz-gl-nwvwalmart1217.h... )
Jay Thompson
Broker / Owner
Thompson's Realty
Blog: www.PhoenixRealEstateGuy.com
.
Submitted by Clint Miller on January 28, 2010 - 5:45am.
I have to agree with Jay on this matter...
This isnt going to do anything but allow the average consumer, which already has a distasteful view of real estate professionals, to lower RE professionals to the same standards as cell phone sales kiosk employees and those annoying guys that try to hand you leaflets in the parking lot to promote $5 cover charge concerts at a bar.
I understand the lead generation spin...I work in lead generation. I get that part.
But, at what cost? Isnt there a level of diminishing returns here?
If one person asks about a house....great. If the other 99 people out of 100 walk by thinking this is retarded...what is being gained?
Submitted by Gregory Schreiber on January 28, 2010 - 7:41am.
This is a really, really bad idea. LOL!
Submitted by Karin Cunningham on January 28, 2010 - 11:50am.
We've been selling homes at a shopping mall in the Bay Area for 10 years! We average a few sales per month! I love it! Check it out!
http://activerain.com/blogsview/652914/san-bruno-realtor-karin-cunningha...
http://www.pruvoices.com/2009/07/doing-the-right-thing/
http://thepruteam.com/page/default1231525533
It's the greatest thing ever! About 40 of us at our Prudential San Bruno Office rotate shifts all day long!
Submitted by Mike Bowler Sr. on January 28, 2010 - 2:36pm.
I have been through the Sear's office, and the Mall Kiosk experience and found that most agents do not want to make the commitment to work it.
It's one way to reduce office space (depending on lease expenses)Most Malls charge a premium price, so commitment to work it is a must.
This is not new. We had Westdale Real Estate operating from Meijer stores here in Michigan back in the late seventies and did fairly well.
Kudos to RE/MAX of New England for stepping out of the box and attempting to differenciate themselves.
“Expect the Best” Mike
Mike Bowler Sr. ePRO, CRB, GRI, SRES
Coldwell Banker Hubbell Briarwood
1020 S. Creyts Road, Lansing, MI 48917
Phone: 517-492-3400 Fax: 888-832-6203
email: Mike@MikeBowler.com
Website for Clients: www.MikeBowler.com
Submitted by Susie Blackmon on January 29, 2010 - 12:24am.
Ha ha. Can't wait for the Blue Light Specials.
Way to "Raise the Bar."
Susie Blackmon
http://unhub.com/susieblackmon