Things literally just got real in New York. Real, a digital mobile real estate brokerage that got its start in Houston, recently relocated its headquarters to the Flatiron District.
CEO Tamir Poleg says via e-mail that the startup’s platform is aimed at independent, licensed residential real estate agents to help them manage leads and other services for dealmaking on properties. It can also be used by agents who no longer want to be tied down to a physical office, he says.
The software can run on a smartphone or tablet, and Real’s platform conducts searches for leads based on the agents’ geographic territory. The agents take home 85 percent of the commission from each sale, while Real gets 15 percent. There are no fees or subscriptions required for agents to sign up, Poleg says.
Other companies have also been trying to better connect the real estate industry to mobile technology. Collingswood, NJ-based Smarter Agent, for example, develops apps that agents, real estate companies such as Century 21, and multiple listing services (MLS) use to search for new properties, changes in price, and other services. SnApp in Los Angeles creates custom real estate apps for agencies and independent agents.
Real will have to hustle to cement its place in the market, but the company is also billed as a brokerage and not just an app maker. Currently it is available in Alabama, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia, and Washington, DC. The startup came out of beta in February, and also raised $6 million in a Series A funding round led by Magma Venture Partners.
Along with the headquarters move, Real also hired Yoni Ben-Yehuda to be its chief marketing officer. Ben-Yehuda previously filled that same role at companies such as Blue Fountain Media and MedCPU.
