Originally Posted on St. Louis Post Dispatch
When St. Louis-based HomeTraq started to notice nationwide stay-at-home orders go into effect with local government decisions on the horizon, the startup realized it would need to pivot.
The company, a developer of an on-demand home showing app, turned its focus to providing live video showings as it saw the effects of the coronavirus pandemic in the U.S.
“We started aggressively working with ourselves internally and our development team on being able to create these video tours,” co-founder Mark Gorman said.
Founded in 2017, HomeTraq created a home showing app designed to help users find agents to schedule a home showing within an average of three to five minutes. The startup was founded by Gorman and Brett O’Daniell.
While HomeTraq continues to offer in-person home showings, it says about 75% of users are requesting virtual tours right now. The video tours are a precaution that homebuyers and real estate agents are seeking, said Gorman, who added a recent virtual showing included an elderly buyer and a real estate agent who is seven months pregnant.
“It worked out great for both of them because they could maintain their social distancing while they still get to work and search for houses,” Gorman said.
While it has turned to video to get consumers in and out of houses during the pandemic, startup officials realize they may still need to rely on the technology even after local stay-at-home orders are lifted, noting that "it may be a while until some people feel comfortable going out."
HomeTraq isn't the only company in real estate that is shifting its approach right now. Homebuilders and real estate agencies nationwide have tapped into virtual tours. For HomeTraq, the focus on live home showing is designed to give buyers some leverage as opposed to relying on a taped video tour that might be provided by a seller.
“It’s a professional videographer making it look good as possible, whereas that buyer needs to have their own advocate there to say, ‘hey, there’s a potential issue here or this looks good,’” O’Daniell said.
While HomeTraq’s co-founders say they are concerned about a real estate slowdown, they are confident recent growth will provide stability moving forward.
“We’re cautiously optimistic. Our lead generation over the 90 days is up 160% over the previous 90 days. Part of that is seasonal, but what is happening is people are home and on their devices. They’re really looking at houses now. We’re seeing an uptick in activity," O’Daniell said.
The startup, which has a staff of 12, is in the process of expanding to Kansas City and rolling out a new tool with its financial partners. HomeTraq’s software platform is designed to help financial institutions reduce their mortgage loss rate and partner with banks, credit unions, and mortgage lenders to distribute the app to customers.
The startup is implementing a feature for its lender partners to promote their down payment assistance programs and specialty loan programs to customers and real estate agents in underserved markets. That feature is in development and is expected to roll out in late spring or early summer with lending partners, the co-founders said.
“Of course, there’s a concern for a slowdown of real estate, but we’re doing everything that we can to facilitate new ways to be able to see it, do it and participate,” Gorman said.
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