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HomeStack is a customizable, mobile-first, white-label business application.
platform: Browser; iOS system
very suitable: Independent brokerages, teams and individual agents
Main selling points:
- Consumer driven UX/UI
- Easy CRM integration
- Emphasis on personalization
- Instant listing updates/MLS connection
- Mid-funnel focus
- Home search experience
Issues of greatest concern:
redundancy. Some teams may view action solutions provided by their CRM or franchise as alternatives. There was a time when I would say go this route because you’ve paid, the data is there, the visibility is there. I no longer believe this 100%.
what you should know
family stacking Lego is a mobile app that is a ready-to-build solution for independent brokerages to create powerful, consumer-facing business applications with the same functionality as more expensive ad-hoc build software. HomeStack comes with home discovery capabilities, a CRM, in-car communications with two-way activity notifications, lead routing, travel scheduling, and other tools that should satisfy the expectations of any tech-savvy technical administrator or broker looking to find new ways to add value to their operation.
HomeStack has linked with over 200 listing services to ensure its listing profiles are tightly integrated. User-created apps have highly personalized custom names that require App Store approval, and each app comes with download trackers and user behavior alerts so agents know who is using the app and when.
It includes vendor promotions and endorsements for internal partners (such as mortgage lenders), driving tour functionality, two-way saved search alerts, agent profile pages with social account links and the ability to market exclusive listings individually as needed.
The home search experience is as good as consumers could ask for, which is almost always my biggest concern when looking at apps made for agents to resell to clients. That’s because the company expresses admiration for what Zillow has built, as opposed to many others who view Zillow as a Godzilla-esque Leviathan that needs to be dismantled. You should know by now that this isn’t going to happen. Smart businesspeople learn from the leaders of their industry rather than trying to identify weaknesses as motivation to attack.
HomeStack’s search looks great and can best be summed up by not giving consumers any reason to look elsewhere. Good software design doesn’t have to be better, it just needs to be a solid alternative and have something to help it become its own thing. Some people like Nike. Others prefer Reebok. It’s often that simple.
There are clear vertical card views of homes for sale, a map view and a grid-based look, then guide consumers to tour arrangements, open house registrations or a general call-to-action for more information. This is where you can promote in-house lenders, save searches, and find the listing broker’s profile page.
This is all arranged vertically and further supported by administrative controls that allow fine coordination of consumer notifications via email or push, the latter of which I think is even more important when you consider how obsessed buyers are with new market information efficient. Remember, buyers go crazy when they want to see something new and different. Don’t try to stay ahead of them; let the technology do it.
You know, two-way inventory status alerts are nothing new, but the context here is different because HomeStack offers it in a white label application, and again its level of completion reflects the wishes of the customer application developer if the project is hired. , then delivery. However, I don’t think your application developer can handle 200 MLS source connections. “Yeah, I’ll leave that to you.” No, thank you.
Linking to CRM sources is done on the backend during setup and ongoing management through some simple drop-down menus and short settings lists. HomeStack partners with Lofty, Wise Agent, MoxiWorks, Follow Up Boss, Inside Real Estate, Sierra Interactive and more. Agents can then include in their applications the ability to promote at scale via a tagging system, which is a core principle of a streamlined communication system.
Many CRM and marketing tools use tags to define user groups, I’ve always been a fan of it for its simple categorization of business intelligence, and Slack and Trello excel at these features.
Obviously, there’s some overlap with any existing action options your current CRM may offer, but these types of enterprise installations are less common among smaller brokerages, independent agencies, and teams, which may be part of the reason why companies sell around them. . HomeStack can help provide a technology advantage to a company with 50 dealers because it’s much easier to get that many dealers to support a software solution than 1,000 dealers or more.
This roadmap is exciting for HomeStack. There are a lot of big advancements that users can look forward to integrating with their branded apps. There is an activity feed mod for consumers, an engaging way to keep them informed, a threading feature for consolidating communications (chats/alerts) based on lists, and the company makes decisions based on “per list should each have its own message” idea. My own narrative,” I told them point blank that I was going to steal that phrase.
As I write this, the Agent Insights tool is being revamped. This is an existing app option that allows agency users to understand customer interest in listings, app downloads, and other useful metrics. The company will also roll out widgets and launch a GPT-powered reporting module.
HomeStack told me during our demo that it has partnered with LiveEasy, an end-to-end relocation and home management solution. I’m excited to see how this develops because LiveEasy is one of the better consumer-facing companies supporting the many ways real estate interacts with everyday life.
The advantages of using branded action experiences to conduct business are many, but the reality is that good experiences are not easy to find because they are too high-impact for agents. HomeStack is a business-to-business-to-consumer model, meaning it’s a version of one business selling a product to another business, which in turn sells the product to consumers. Resellers are not engaged in software sales. (I often think many agents aren’t even good at selling homes.)
However, HomeStack makes selling the app easier because it decided to focus on independent brokerages (a more compact structure makes adoption easier, and they tend to have more high-performing, tech-savvy agents). For example, it’s not like it’s trying to replicate something that’s already good by not trying to build its own CRM. What’s most important to me is that the company decided to do more of what proptech companies should do: start with consumer expectations. Start and then provide agents with ways to meet that expectation.
I feel a little embarrassed that I haven’t contacted this company before. However, based on our conversations, the timing seems better now than it was five or ten years ago.
Companies need time to think through their decisions and allow the market to provide them with the input they need to better satisfy their decisions. A PR rep called me to participate in a recent review in which I noted that the founder’s experience-based naiveté impacted his product decisions. I can see the potential in this topic’s product and I can see exactly the mistakes they made. I also know that this person will probably end up agreeing with me.
After all, there is no better teacher than time.
Now, go build an application.
Do you have a tech product you’d like to discuss? Email Craig Rowe
Craig C. Rowe got involved in commercial real estate at the dawn of the dot-com bubble, helping a range of commercial real estate companies strengthen their online presence and analyze internal software decisions. He now helps agencies with technology decisions and marketing by reviewing Inman’s software and technology.
