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OfferBarn is web software for comparing iBuyer offers.
Platforms: Browser
Ideal for: All agents, teams and brokerages in iBuyer markets
Top selling points
- Transparency
- Developed by active brokerage CEO
- Seller landing pages
- Clear explanation of fees
- Appeal to seller
Top concerns
I fear that the company will push this into a standard, open-market offer comparison tool. Its value to the agent is that it helps explain the concept of iBuyers to sellers. Adding more would dilute it.
What you should know
Scott Martineau is the president and CEO of the boutique Redbarn Real Estate in Atlanta, and he has a very level-headed approach to iBuyers.
“They’re just another buyer,” he said.
So, he treats them that way.
But, he does recognize their new unique role in today’s transaction economy and that agents and sellers need to know how to make sense of it all.
Thus, he formed a small team and birthed OfferBarn, which he calls, “The Kayak.com for iBuyers.”
The web-based iBuyer comparison tool, the Offer Analyzer, cleanly lays out in a modern, white-labeled user experience how each iBuyer stacks up against its competition and the expected price the open market will command.
The property data fields, completed by the agent, are modeled after those presented by the big players Offerpad, Zillow Offers and Opendoor. This makes submission to each quick and easy.
Because listing agents are submitting the property to the iBuyers at the behest of their client, they maintain control of the process.
Lesser-known local and national franchise iBuying programs can be included and so can “certified cash buyers.”
Sellers are presented with a link, PDF or printed report of their analysis once all the offers are returned and every apple can be respectively compared, complete with a written explanation of the iBuying environment.
The Offer Analyzer shows the price and status of each offer, its general terms, fees, seller net and what’s being “Left on the Table,” in exchange for accepting an iBuyer offer.
The tool automatically stacks the offers from best to worst.
There are three templates (more on the way) for launching a “Get Offer” landing page on your website with a custom URL. This is essentially a lead generation tool that gives the agent a reason to start the comparison process.
Logos, colors and stock images can be swapped as needed. There’s also embed code for a “Get Offers” button.
Again, Martineau is a broker with 200 agents in two offices under his watch. He’s not looking to replace any of them — he merely wants to provide them with a sharp, competitive advantage in a quickly changing real estate marketplace.
OfferBarn is a powerfully practical way to support agents with technology and serve the homeseller. And by becoming the source of the iBuyer offer, agents have a better chance of not losing that lead directly to the Zillows and Opendoors of the world.
This is a sharp tool for brokerages in active iBuyer markets. It’s a $99-per-month subscription, and it’s mobile-responsive.
Have a technology product you would like to discuss? Email Craig Rowe
Craig C. Rowe started in commercial real estate at the dawn of the dot-com boom, helping an array of commercial real estate companies fortify their online presence and analyze internal software decisions. He now helps agents with technology decisions and marketing through reviewing software and tech for Inman.
