On the final day of Inman Connect Las Vegas, Inman founder Brad Inman sat down with Sean Black, the CEO and Co-Founder of knock.com. A member of the founding team at Trulia, Black was at the forefront of some of the greatest shifts in our industry of the twenty-first century. And he believes we’re in the midst of another one.
Here are three key takeaways from his conversation with Inman and what you need to know to be prepared for (and excited about) the next revolution in real estate.
1. The next revolution will be centered on transactions and will benefit buyers and sellers alike.
More than a decade ago, the information revolution irrevocably changed the real estate experience for buyers. Digitization made listings suddenly available on a massive scale, along with increased visibility into commute times, school districts, and more.
Today, buyers and sellers benefit from the next major innovation: the transaction revolution. Platforms like Knock are giving agents and consumers increased visibility into their transactions: what’s happening, when it’s happening, and why it’s happening.
2. Future transactions will be more certain, more transparent, and more liquid.
In the old way of buying and selling, the funds a homeowner needed to purchase their new house were tied up in their old one. Untangling these funds from their equity is both complicated and frustrating.
By offering innovative financing solutions like the Knock Home Swap™, agents can provide their clients with ways to liquify these assets – making it possible to purchase their new dream home before selling. The hassles of contingencies, living through showings or repairs, or finding short-term housing between closings will become relics of the past.
3. Among these shifts, agents become more critical — and empowered — than ever.
Rather than making the role of the agent obsolete, Black believes that the transaction revolution will do exactly the opposite.
As technology becomes more prolific, consumers are continuing to overwhelmingly choose agents to guide them through the most emotional purchase of their life. In fact, the National Association of Realtors reports that nearly 90% of consumers are represented by agents — a number that is up 20% over the last 20 years.
By utilizing tools like Knock’s Home Swap and GO™ solutions, agents are freed from navigating the choppy waters of uncertain financing and able to focus more primarily on shepherding their clients through this supercharged purchase. They will be empowered to shift their time and attention to the most critical part of their business: nurturing relationships. The result is a better world for consumers and a better world for agents.
Learn more about Knock and its revolutionary financing solutions here.