Earlier this week, the Amazon-Realogy partnership was made official with an announcement on Tuesday of the new deal between the real estate company and the e-commerce giant.
The New Amazon-Realogy Partnership and TurnKey
Realogy is the nation’s biggest residential real estate brokerage, with familiar companies under its umbrella such as Century 21, Coldwell Banker, Corcoran, and Sotheby’s International Realty. In the midst of recent reports of financial troubles comes a seemingly positive turn for the real estate company with the announcement of the Amazon-Realogy partnership and the birth of a new program, TurnKey.
To date, it is unclear how long TurnKey has been in development. However, the program was demoed in Orlando, FL a few months ago. Here is how it will work for homebuyers:
1. Future homebuyers visit Amazon’s site and sign up for Turnkey
2. Buyers enter in information like the type of property, the location where they wish to make the purchase, and the price
3. They are then matched with real estate agents affiliated with Realogy:
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- Corcoran agents will not be participating in the program as they do not operate in the 15 cities in which the program has been launched so far
- According to Realogy, only 11% of their agents qualify to participate in the Turnkey program, although the assessment criteria has not been made public
- Turnkey Agents come with the bold claim that they will close on your new home in 15% fewer days
4. Once the real estate deal is closed, Amazon comes back into the picture to offer the new homeowners free services including:
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- Amazon Home Services: cleaning and repairs
- A variety of smart-home products
- Amazon Move gift vouchers: different services and products catering to people who are moving
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The size of the freebies package (with services worth somewhere between $1000 and $5000) will depend on the price of the new home, with a minimum purchase price set at $150,000. Those above $700,000 will enjoy the max worth of $5000.
Realogy says it will pay for the Amazon services from the agent’s commissions on the transactions.
TurnKey will launch in the following cities:
1. Phoenix, AZ
2. Los Angeles, CA
3. Sacramento, CA
4. San Francisco, CA
5. Denver, CO
6. Tampa, FL
7. Orlando, FL
8. Atlanta, GA
9. Chicago, IL
10. Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN
11. Charlotte, NC
12. Dallas/Fort Worth, TX
13. Houston, TX
14. Seattle, WA
15. Washington DC
The Amazon-Realogy partnership is set to increase sales for both companies. The lead generation opportunities for Realogy seem promising and Amazon gets to promote property services it already offers. The program claims that it will be providing homebuyers a new way to find homes and help them settle into their new places with the help of local services and experts. Realogy has already seen a spike in its stock value this week after the announcement.
However, some experts say that the TurnKey program is flawed. For one, homebuyers don’t visit Amazon when house hunting. Experts also say that Realogy’s deal with Amazon could hurt the real estate company’s bottom line as the value of the leads that will be provided has been brought into question. Others have voiced concern for the agents involved and the level of protection they have in the program. Time will tell whether this program will be a success.
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