Selling a home has always been a complicated process. But advances in the proptech space have the potential to alleviate many burdens for both buyers and sellers.
Until recently, proptech tools that equip buyers with automated price estimates have left sellers with the short end of the technological stick. SparkOffer’s new platform works to level the playing field.
SparkOffer’s digital offer platform provides sellers with an audience of serious buyers and all the upsides of an auction without the stigma. Sellers or their agents create listings on SparkOffer with photos, property information, a negotiable selling point and a countdown to when the sale will end.
“Up until the pandemic, no one knew when urbanization would stop, and developers spent billions building luxury residential high-rise units that are now up for grabs. NYC and Miami now have a glut of inventory waiting for the right buyer to come and buy the dip in the markets,” Mike Russo, the founder and developer of SparkOffer, said. “While homeowners are leaving the cities for suburban life, opportunities abound on SparkOffer for buyers to invest in now and reap profits down the line.”
In 2020, neither individual homeowners nor large-scale developers can afford to rely on one agent’s reach or MLSs that have thousands of casual browsers with no reason to act. Through SparkOffer, property sellers set their price point and a deadline for offers. By putting the onus of action onto the buyer, sellers create new windows of opportunities for buyers, speeding up closings and streamlining the process.
“By flipping the script on pricing and property availability, SparkOffer removes the awkwardness buyers experience, as both parties know that offers are expected and encouraged, all within a set timeframe,” Russo said. “Rather than buyers continuing to wait for the price to drop, the two parties can expedite the discovery and interest process and help each other attain their goals.”
With interest rates at all-time lows, 2020 is the perfect time to buy. But buyers have no impetus to act when they can scroll endlessly on Zillow or StreetEasy, waiting for prices to go lower and lower. Agents and their sellers are getting stuck in an endless loop of time on the market followed by price reductions. This loop trains buyers to wait and sellers start to pause, as price reductions seem to have no end in sight.
SparkOffer dispels this issue by connecting sellers with a pool of genuinely interested buyers, all of whom are electronically vetted before they can make any offers. Buyers benefit from SparkOffer, too, since it introduces them to properties with serious sellers ready to negotiate, and gives them the right information to shake off the uncertainty that comes with online browsing and buying. Prior to SparkOffer, sellers had to stay vigilant against Zillow and StreetEasy, which actively scours the net to catalog and use either outdated or proprietary AI-based pricing. SparkOffer upends this issue by providing buyers and sellers to convene on a safe platform where they can signal legitimate interest in selling or purchasing a property, ensuring that deals are closed in a timely manner.
SparkOffer’s innovative system broadens buyer horizons, bringing in diverse but relevant options for serious buyers. The algorithm won’t chase a higher commission or wait for a lower price. SparkOffer puts control directly into the palms of the hands of buyers and sellers. Fifty percent of offers on SparkOffer are made directly by the buyer without any assistance, allowing both parties to get into a negotiation quickly and easily.
By creating urgency and an active buyer database, SparkOffer has created the property tool every serious seller needs.