Opcity Realty- What You Need to Know

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Opcity Realty

Opcity Realty is a startup success in a time when artificial intelligence and machine learning are becoming used in several industries. The company was acquired in 2018 by a massive company that owns realtor.com. The services provided by Opcity Realty remain the same but are branded with a new name Ready Connect Concierge.

Artificial intelligence and machine learning are sciences used in multiple industries. For example, Opcity Realty found a way to use these disciplines to create algorithms to match home buyers and sellers with the most compatible real estate agents. They described their platform as the E-Harmony of real estate. Their formula proved highly successful after launching in 2017, and within a year, the company was purchased and is now under the well-known umbrella brand realtor.com.

OpCity Realty is Different

Opcity Realty’s platform receives high conversion rates.

The platform focuses on providing agents with qualified leads, not just lead generation. Lead generation is collecting leads with no indicators of if they are eligible potential customers ready to make a decision.

Most real estate websites provide purely lead generation and not qualified leads. The typical process involves the real estate site gathering information from the buyers and sellers interacting with the website and then sending that information to real estate agents. The issues occur when people visit the site with no plan to buy a house.

They are just beginning the home search, most likely and perusing. This makes it challenging and time-consuming for real estate agents to determine who will convert to a customer and buy or sell a home. They could potentially get a significant lead, but that may not always be the case.

Opcity qualifies the generated leads to narrow down the list of real estate agents for a better pool of potential customers. In addition, they have over 400 people on staff who reach out to the generated leads list and ask them all types of qualifying questions before being added to the Opcity list. This outreach, along with the computer matching algorithms, creates the success of the Opcity Realty platform.

Finding a suitable real estate agent who fits your needs can be challenging as a buyer or seller. Opcity Realty can use a computer algorithm to determine great fits based on online customer reviews and several other factors. There are traditional ways realtors succeed in business, some of which are considered by the algorithm. Some traits of a realtor many customers look for in the home buying and selling process include a realtor who is available, experienced, honest, knowledgeable, personable, proactive, professional, reliable, reputable, and tech-savvy. The Opcity Realty platform reviews online customer reviews of real estate agents for keywords used by past clients to describe the realtors and their experience. The data is then weighed as part of the calculation in the match-making process. Regardless of the matching process, real estate agents are still responsible for building the relationship with the customer and closing on the home.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Opcity Realty?

Opcity Realty is a company that uses machine learning and algorithms to pair real estate agents with qualified prospective buyers and sellers. The platform uses a variety of factors like realtor location, performance, and customer reviews to determine the best possible realtor match for a buyer or seller.

Opcity was founded in 2017 by Ben Rubenstein and Michael Lam with funding of over $27million. The owners saw an opportunity to simplify home buying, and the company grew until it was acquired in 2018 by a subsidy of News Corp for $210 million and is now part of the realtor.com brand.

How Does the Opcity Algorithm Work?

The equation creates a score from 0 to 100 assigned to a real estate agent. The higher the score, the better the real estate agent is qualified to work with a potential buyer or seller. Realtors can improve their scores by increasing the number of referrals they claim.

A realtor’s score always starts at 100 and will change over time based on several factors.

Scores typically range around 80 on the low end and exceed 100, even 120 for the highest performing real estate agents.

Opcity looks at five success metrics to determine if a Realtor is worth recommending.

1. Filters based on buyer/seller requirements
2. Customer reviews
3. Number of closings by the realtor
4. Released referrals received by the realtor
5. How often the realtor uses the dashboard and keeps their leads up to date

Buyers and sellers input several requirements in their search for a realtor.

1. Price range
2. Property preferences
3. Credit level
4. Timeline

Who Owns Opcity Realty?

A year after its debut, Opcity Realty received many positive responses and was acquired by the company that owns realtor.com. Today, Opcity is under the realtor.com brand and continues to evolve as part of the business. The Opcity website is no longer active and redirects searchers to the realtor.com website. The new name for Opcity Realty is Ready Connect Concierge. The founders, Rubenstein and Lam, still manage the company under the new name. Rubenstein now acts as the Chief Revenue Officer, and Lam is the Chief Operating Officer. The Opcity name will be retired over time as the users switch to the new name.

Why Did Realtor.com Buy Opcity Realty?

At the time of the purchase of Opcity by realtor.com, Opcity had more than 40,000 real estate agents and over 5,000 brokerages registered on its referral platform in less than a year. This included well-known names such as Keller Williams, Remax, Century 21, and Berkshire Hathaway Home Services. In addition, Realtor.com stated that the Opcity Acquisition would help its lead generation products by helping real estate professionals to choose between the traditional model to find leads or Opcity’s concierge-based model that provides vetted transaction-ready tips.

How is Opcity Realty Different Than Realtor.com?

Opcity Realty was purchased by the company that owns realtor.com in 2018. Opcity Realty is now under the umbrella of realtor.com as an additional service the business offers beyond its listing service. Opcity’s new name is now Ready Connect Concierge but still uses the same algorithm and functions the same as the original Opcity Realty product.

Is Opcity Realty Free?

Opcity Realty offers a free service to buyers and sellers looking for real estate agents. First, homebuyers and sellers looking to connect with real estate agents answer some basic information about themselves and their home buying or selling goals. After, the leads are filtered, qualified, and passed on to local realtors who pay to use the service.

How Does Opcity Realty Make Money?

Opcity realty makes money by charging realtors commissions based on their referrals. For example, when a customer hires a realtor referred through Opcity and buys a house, the realtor pays OpCity part of their earned commission. Real estate agents using the app should generally expect to pay between 30 to 35% of their commission to OpCity for the leads. This amount may put off some realtors, but the added cost may be worth it for the increased number of qualified leads received. The Opcity platform provides three to five times the number of conversions compared to traditional lead sources.

How Do Realtors Buy Leads from Opcity Realty?

There are several ways realtors can obtain leads from Opcity Realty.

1. They can purchase leads by zip code. This avenue provides all open leads per zip code and is not exclusive to just one real estate agent. Multiple real estate agents have the same information for the leads, so there will be competition.

They can buy exclusive leads. Real estate agents can buy leads that only they have access to through Opcity. The price range for these leads is $200 to $1000.

1. The buyers and customers looking to buy or sell a property do not need to cancel their realtor.com accounts. They can ignore any Realtor calls or emails that they receive or deactivate their personal account to show they are no longer interested.

What is the Opcity Referral Fee?

The fee ranges from 30 to 35 percent. For example, if a house sells for $150,000 or less, the fee is 30 percent. However, if it sells for over $150,000, the fee is 35 percent. This can be a steep cut of the commissions for many real estate agents.

However, the value is based on each agent’s experience with the platform. If Opcity offers highly qualified leads regularly, the fee could be justified, saving the realtor time chasing unqualified leads.

What are the Pros and Cons of Opcity Realty?

The pros are that realtors receive qualified leads ready to buy a home and not just look. Also, realtors only pay the hefty fee if they close a deal; otherwise, there is no upfront cost. The con is that the fee is steep for realtors once the home is closed.

Why Would a Realtor Release a Client From Opcity?

Sometimes the Opcity formula does not work, in which case the realtor can release the customer back to the network and off their dashboard.

How Do Realtors Release Referrals from Opcity?

Here are several reasons why a real estate agent may release a referral back to Opcity.

• The customer does not intend to purchase within the next six months.
• The customer has become unresponsive and will not engage in the home search process.
• The customer needs credit repair or other assistance before they purchase.
• The realtor no longer wants to work with the client for any other reason.

Here is how a realtor would go about releasing a customer.

• Pull up their profile in your Referral Manager or Agent App
• Tap the “Release” button in the middle of the screen
• Select a reason for releasing the lead
• Provide any additional information about why you are removing this client (optional)
• Hit’ Release Lead to Opcity’ to finalize the release.

What are Traditional Sources of Lead Generation in Real Estate?

Opcity simplifies the lengthy process, and multiple avenues real estate agents go to generate leads and find clients. Here are some examples of several time-intensive traditional methods, making Opcity an appealing option.

• Reach Out to Friends and Family
• Attend Chamber of Commerce Events
• Get Active on Social Media
• Research Instagram Hashtags
• Reach Out to FSBO’s. FSBOs are customers currently listing their own homes for sale that may benefit from a real estate agent’s experience.
• Reach Out to FRBO’s. FRBO’s are properties for rent by owners that may potentially use a real estate agent to find better renter prospects.
• Give a Free Seminar
• Host an Open House

Summary

Opcity benefits realtors, buyers, and sellers by pairing them based on numerous compatibility factors. The platform is easy to use and, for many realtors, a great resource, but the fee for realtors who close a deal with the service is exceptionally high, making the trade-off decision up to each real estate agent and their business plan.