In recent years, technology has reinvented everything from the way we book a vacation to the way we hail a car to take us to the airport. Now, innovators are finding ways to merge software and data to transform the real estate industry as well. Glenn Orgin, an Englishman who spent the last decade working at a real estate investment company in the U.S., invented a way to combine the worlds of tech and real estate to help Americans sell homes without a middleman. His resulting platform, Richr, is a disruptive new technology and referral program that puts the power back in the hands of sellers and saves them thousands of dollars in the process.
“When I moved to the United States from England, I was shocked to learn that American agents receive a nearly 6% commission for selling a home, compared with about 1% in England,” Orgin says. “I believe online platforms like Richr can democratize the real estate industry. This tech-driven approach to the real estate market makes it easier for individuals to sell their homes themselves.” The entirely free platform allows homeowners to list their home on their local MLS in just minutes. Once online, the listing will appear on more than 750 major listing websites including Redfin, Realtor.com, and Zillow.
Though anyone can use the platform, Orgin says that the target demographic is 32- to 52-year-old buyers and sellers who are technology savvy and looking for more efficient ways to navigate the real estate process. “Last year, around 20% of homeowners used unassisted agent services or didn’t list on MLS,” he notes. “Richr will make it even easier for individuals to maintain more control when selling their homes.”
According to recent data, sellers would like there to be an easy alternative to working with an agent: A new survey conducted online by the Harris Poll on behalf of Richr found that nearly three-quarters of Americans (74%) wish there was an alternative to the traditional model of working with a real estate agent when buying a home. And around two-thirds (67%) believe it is currently difficult to sell or buy a property without an agent. Older Americans and those with higher incomes were more likely to say this.
While Richr is making it easier for buyers and sellers to maintain control throughout the entire process, Orgin doesn’t believe the platform will negate the role of agents and brokers altogether. “I believe agents will still work with sellers but on an on-demand basis, like an Uber-style system where people can see an agent’s rating and what it’s like to work with them,” he says. In the future, Richr will also include an equity-sharing product that enables investors and homeowners to interface.
And, Orgin muses, perhaps Richr can even change the future of the storage industry. “In the future, you might be able to use Richr to find someone with extra storage space or a boat dock and pay a monthly fee to rent that,” he says. Of course, these changes won’t happen overnight. But like the hospitality and ride share industries, tech is changing the game for real estate. And Richr is helping to lead the charge.
