Bloomkey's Vision

How can the Internet make the real estate brokerage industry more cost efficient and responsive to consumer needs? How can technology improve the way real estate products and services are delivered? Are there ways in which the real estate transaction process can be made more environmentally friendly? These are some of the questions that Bloomkey's founders set out to answer at the start in 1997.

To answer these questions, we started at the beginning. By looking at the history and development of the real estate industry it became apparent that what once made sense for real estate transaction participants - buyers, sellers and real estate brokers - no longer made sense on the brink of the new millennium.

Real estate commission comparison based on sale of $500,000 house.

In the good old days of real estate brokerage in the United States, houses sold for under $25,000. Not many people could afford to purchase a home before the advent of the 30 year mortgage. In that economic climate, for a real estate agent to make a living took a lot of time and hard work. Unlike today, there weren't that many licensed real estate agents to compete with each other. Consequently, the agent could afford to spend more of their time doing work for their client to sell their home rather than constantly looking for new business. Further, without an easy to access database of properties for sale, having a seasoned professional to help find properties and buyers was essential to an effective marketplace. In those days, a commission of 6% or more made perfect sense to all of the transaction particpants.

Nowadays, traditional real estate agents can sell just one house and afford to pay cash for a new luxury car with the commission!

Today's market, however, presents a new set of realities. Half million dollar homes are not uncommon (where the typical agent commission is $30,000). Nowadays, traditional real estate agents can sell just one house and afford to pay cash for a new luxury car with the commission! And, regardless of whether the agent takes 1 day to sell your home or 1 year, they still collect the same large commission.

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) now boasts over 1.2 million members. Agents spend most of their time competing for business rather than helping their clients. Not only are consumer paying more for real estate services, they're receiving less. Times have changed, but the antiquated commission based model of real estate brokerage remains unchanged.

By and large, residential real estate brokerage services haven't changed much over the past 100 years. You still pay a large commission for a fixed package of services. There's an old adage that if you sit on a stone long enough, you'll get use to it. For real estate consumers that means accepting having to purchase a non-negotiable service package for a relatively high commission rate. In today's marketplace buying or selling a home through a traditional real estate broker is still an expensive and, often, time consuming process.

Over the past few years, consumers have grown more accustomed to participating in a value based economy where costs continue to decline in almost every service industry. Today's technology empowered consumers are able to research their purchases in advance using the ubiquitous Internet. And they have demonstrated more willingness to take control of their purchasing actions and decisions. Consumers have come to expect a trade off in terms of their time and effort and the cost of goods and services. They expect the same technology and innovation that has transformed other industries to now transform the industry of their largest investment, their home, in ways that make the process more efficient and less expensive.

Through the innovative use of technology and the Internet, Bloomkey.com now provides real estate services far more efficiently and economically than traditional brokerage firms.

Taking into account consumer dissatisfaction with the traditional real estate brokerage service pricing model along with the realities of today's market, Bloomkey's leaders have set out to create a company that maximizes value to our customers. By centralizing real estate transaction processes, advancing new technologies, innovation and, importantly, keeping overhead low by eliminating the need for large networks of real estate offices with scores of real estate agents, Bloomkey now provides real estate services across the United States and Canada more efficiently and economically than ever before.

For us, it's all about consumer choice. Using technology to provide real estate buyers and sellers with options in terms of services and fees is what motivates us towards continuous improvement of our customers' real estate transaction experience. We look critically at everything we do. Long established practices, procedures and habits of mind are suspect. 'What stones might we be sitting on?' is a question we ask every day.

Bloomkey's vision for the future of real estate includes having a positive impact on the planet. Bloomkey's model requires just one centralized office location thereby reducing the company's ecological footprint. Because we are an Internet company we require far fewer real estate agents to effect a real estate transaction. That translates to fewer automobiles touring customers, attending Agent Open House luncheons, etc. and less emissions and polution. And, Bloomkey's proprietary technology allows us to avoid the use of paper, printer toner and other consumables that contribute to millions of pounds of annual waste..

Saving money never made such a positive impact on the Planet. Going green with Bloomkey, means saving green (money) and helping the environment!

Bloomkey believes that in the future, the Realtor® will remain central to the real estate transaction. Having a professional work force with a high standard of conduct and Code of Ethics is an important advantage for the consumer. We see the real estate industry heading towards "single agency" and "limited representation" because those methods of service are economically, ethically and socially justifiable. We hope and work for the day when the traditional practice of "dual agency", (a practice whereby the real estate agent attempts to walk the fine line of representing two opposing parties to a real estate transaction while pretending to promote both of their interests at the same time equally) no longer exists. It's not acceptable in the legal profession and it shouldn't be allowed in real estate.

Our goal is not to supplant the real estate agent, but to offer alternative real estate products and services in an unbundled, 'a la carte', consumer oriented fashion. Bringing back into the fold the annual thousands of disenchanted consumers who turn to "For Sale By Owner" methods each year because of the perceived lack of alternatives in real estate brokerage services and pricing. Our stance is that the consumer is indeed smart enough and savvy enough to pick and choose which services they want and need. At Bloomkey, we're proud to be a agent for change and an advocate of the consumer.

In 1997, we set out to be the country's leading provider of online, 'a la carte' real estate services. Today we are proud to offer real estate brokerage services throughout the U.S. and in parts of Canada having already successfully sold thousands of homes and properties while saving consumers millions of dollars in real estate fees. Bloomkey IS the real estate company of the future.

Now, there really is a smarter way to buy and sell your home!

by Lawrence Bunnell
Partner/Principal Broker