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CityRaven is a platform that matches a limited selection of vetted agents with buyer and seller needs.
Platform(s): Browser-based
Ideal for: Tenured, high-producing agents
Top selling points
- Very limited number of agents able to qualify
- Provides exceptional lead quality
- No cost to agents
Top concerns
- Overzealous buyers and sellers
- Reduction in agent quality outside of major markets
What you should know
I think CityRaven chose the preeminent member of the corvid family as its branding theme because, like ravens, the company wants to become known as the most intelligent form of life in the industry.
They’re off to a good start.
CityRaven starts with generating a market report for sellers. It follows up with a question about what final sale price they’d consider reasonable.
Lastly, the software connects them with a local agent whose sales history best matches their needs.
The sale estimate is generated by an algorithm fueled by data from a number of portal sites and available market information.
CityRaven’s real value comes from its very tightly controlled list of member agents.
Each sales professional is personally vetted by CityRaven management, and every market will be limited to around 100 member agents.
CityRaven’s real value comes from its very tightly controlled list of member agents.
CityRaven has 75 agents in New York City, where the site has been live for just over a month.
After a listing’s information is submitted, a short list of agents is generated for the seller’s perusal.
Profiles are populated with agents’ average sale price, number of deals closed, average time to close and other statistics that relate to that listing’s community.
Sellers can send all or just one potential agent a direct message.
There is no back-end for the agents to manage contacts, send emails or generate flyers in CityRaven. Because the agents are considered a market’s highest and best, any sort of CRM-like functionality is unwarranted.
CityRaven’s research (i.e., agent interviews) told them, “Just get us good leads; we’ll take it from there.”
The website also provides consumers with a page of market resources, videos and a blog. I found its content fairly typical of a real estate blog; it’s consistent and well-written, but nothing overly compelling.
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The buyer-matching side of CityRaven is meant to be used after the list has been culled. Agents are encouraged to not work with a buyer just getting started. Again, it’s about lead quality.
There is no cost to agents to become members. In fact, it’s the buyers and sellers who pay $99 to find that perfect real estate partner.
Consumers are surveyed for agent quality and the site will rescind membership if warranted.
Have a technology product you would like to discuss? Email Craig Rowe.
