A new real estate firm, Dream Homes International (DHI), has opened the doors to its new offices in South Florida. The firm brings with it the expertise of more than 100 agents who have combined sales of more than $1 billion.
The agents that will fill the offices in Weston and Boynton Beach are coming from Realty Associates Florida Properties, Inc.
DHI is, by all accounts, an offshoot of Realty Associates Florida Properties, Inc., and is being helmed by Bill Joll, new president of DHI.
“It’s an experienced group, and we wanted to launch a brand new entity with our agents and clientele,” Joll said. “We are going in a different direction than Realty Associates.”
Joll’s background is not in real estate. He’s worked and lived in Europe and Asia and all over the United States. He’s taken companies public and he’s been the CEO of small private companies. He was called in February to take a look at the business model behind RAFP, Inc. and determined it was best to move in another direction.
Dream Homes International takes South Florida in a new direction
“The direction is really, how do we serve the consumer with the best experience?” he said. “Experience is not just how you buy properties, but the products.”
Joll acknowledged multiple facets of the real estate world, listing off mortgages, titles, insurance, and the behind-the-scenes happenings. But he strongly emphasized the consumer experience.
“I look at the types of consumers, how different consumers buy, and what types of consumers are here in Florida,” he said.
First, he said he investigated the local market. He recognized that increasing property values are pushing some south Floridians north. He pointed out that Florida is also a destination location — another consumer entirely coming from out of the state to experience the lifestyle Florida has to offer. He then affirmed the international clientele and their importance in the Florida real estate market.
Joll used his experience as a starting point for the change he wants to see with Dream Homes International.
Moving from California with his wife, the jet-setting CEO said getting into a home was not as easy as it should have been. Together with his wife, they researched homes before visiting the state. He came with a list of homes, but ultimately wasn’t able to see the first one the list because of a personal matter between the buying and selling agent.
“We bought the first home we found on the internet, which was the last house that we saw,” he recalled. “How do we address the new consumer — the millennial — who is a lot more tech savvy? There is a different criteria and we need to be addressing that.”
Joll said that Dream Homes International will be implementing what he calls the “classic” marketing plans like introducing single DHI mobile applications and making DHI a destination point for buyers.
