Residential People is Giving Power to the People in New Move

Portals everywhere are taking measures to combat the issues created by the novel COVID-19 virus. While some furlough their staff and cut wages, Residential People is looking to change up how it does business by shucking ownership to the agencies.

Agent members can now own an initial 7,000 shares in the company, this includes Class A voting rights, all at a first-come, first-serve basis. 

Residential People's Founder, Christopher May, explained that skyrocketing prices, loss of control, losing support, and data exploitation are the most common issues that agents face right now.

“We want to change this by creating a portal owned and run by agents. We will not sell data to any third parties unless it is to pass the full benefits back to agent members and we will never be a company that sells data. In fact, we want to pass back to agents significantly more than they give us.”

This isn't the first case of crisis spurring on innovation. Purplebricks has shifted to a completely online platform. HomeVestors is conducting all of its valuation and other services online. REA Group has a number of new services to keep business flowing while keeping everyone involved safe. And most portals are turning to virtual tours in lieu of in-person open houses. 

These measures show how technology has become a lifesaver at the most important of times. What will the average property portal business model look like after we overcome this pandemic?