Mark Dickson thinks he’s gotten pretty close to predicting
the future — at least in the world of residential real estate.
As founder and CEO of Sarasota-based offrs, he runs a
startup that can tell Realtors which homes in a specific territory are most
likely to be listed for sale in the next year. With that information, Realtors
and brokers can then concentrate their marketing efforts on the most receptive
targets.
“Big data and predictive analytics are really the future of
marketing in every industry,” says Dickson, a former commercial real estate
broker in Jacksonville and Washington, D.C. “We’re able to create custom audiences
using our predictive analytics so that Realtors can advertise only to the
people we believe are most likely to sell their home in the next 12 months.”
The company began in a garage in Dickson’s Lakewood Ranch
home in January 2015. It started with a focus on Florida and Washington, D.C.,
and now it’s now expanded to 42 states and works with some 2,000 Realtors at
firms such as Keller Williams, Sotheby’s International Realty and Coldwell
Banker. (Dickson declines to provide any sales/revenue figures.)
“And we’re continuing to grow significantly,” says Dickson.
“By the end of 2016, we’d like to have full national coverage.”
To get there, offrs plans to add 10 employees to its current
Sarasota staff of 20, and increase its number of field-based sales reps from 20
to 60.
The company’s forward-looking information comes from an
algorithm that leverages property and consumer data. Dickson developed the
initial basis of that formula with the help of business partner Rich Swier,
co-founder of Sarasota co-work space and business incubator the HuB, where offrs
is headquartered. The pair then worked with Ph.D.s in statistical analysis to
refine the algorithm and take the most scientific approach possible in
identifying the properties most likely to be put on the market.
The algorithm looks at dozens of variables that can impact
home sales. That’s everything from loan-to-value ratios and age of the youngest
child in the household to how long people tend to own homes in a specific
neighborhood. Properties are given a score from zero to 100, and those with
ratings over 70 are considered prime targets.
“At that point, we would recommend the Realtor reach out to
them on a monthly basis,” says Dickson. “And ultimately if that person is going
to list their house, we’ve given the Realtor we work with a competitive
advantage to be the first one in the door to secure the listing before anyone
else.”
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