Technology is helping change the way buyers and sellers make a deal for a home.
First Coast residents Dan and Grace Allen own the local Hommati franchise that offers a variety of tools to help Realtors and homebuyers see properties in a whole new way. Dan Allen recently answered a few questions about the company, what's happening in the market and what's ahead for next year.
The below Q&A has been edited for clarity and length.
How did you get started with Hommati’s aerial photography business?
My wife and I both have our real estate licenses and were working as Realtors part-time. We knew the real estate side of things, and I’ve always been into photography.
My wife’s cousin is a pretty big photographer in the Philadelphia area and he landed a large national account. We had been talking back and forth, and I started doing some photography work for him. Then we heard about this national company called Hommati.com selling franchises so we bought the franchise rights for this area about two years ago. The area includes Duval, St. Johns, and Clay counties. It’s a huge area.
What does Hommati do?
Our main business is HDR photography. You got to have that for the multiple listing service. On top of that, 3D tours are now very popular. We use a Matterport camera which is an industry-standard for 3D tours. Once we scan the house, you can literally walk through the house. You can spin and look around. And if you have virtual goggles, you could virtually walk through the house with those.
What we have found is that probably 75% to 80% of homebuyers are looking online before they even talk to an agent. Jacksonville is one of the top destinations for people moving right now. The 3D tour allows people moving here and aren’t physically here to be able to walk through the house.
Has that population growth impacted your business?
The real estate market is crazy busy right now. The problem right now is there are so few homes. The inventory is the main issue. So we get really busy at the beginning of the week, and that’s not historically the way our business goes. But because of the way the inventory is right now everything is moving so quickly. A lot of Realtors are getting pictures done at the beginning of the week, so it can go in MLS on Thursday, and they can go live Friday morning. Then they’ll have an open house Saturday or Sunday, start taking final offers Monday or Tuesday and they’re under contract on Wednesday. That’s the norm right now, so that’s crazy.
How is Hommati helping innovate in the residential real estate world?
Some of our best Realtors do the Matterport, the aerial drone, all the photography on every listing. I mentioned the 3D tours. Every time we do a 3D tour, that also produces a floor plan of the house with dimensions. The aerial video is great because it gives you more of a perspective of the area. There are people buying sight-unseen, and the way they’re able to do that is being able to virtually walk through a home and see it from up above.
In one case, I had a Realtor who hired us to do the Matterport 3D tour for the buyer and that gave them the ability to actually measure and see how their furniture would fit in the home. So those are some of the kinds of innovative tools that we’re using.
What’s your goal for the business in 2022?
We were growing and then Covid hit. What happened with Covid is we couldn’t speak with brokerages in person anymore and show them what our tools (3D tours, aerial photography, etc.) could do. So our business has been mainly growing by referrals. Some statistics show that only 12 to 15 percent of Realtors are using some of these tools. When offices are opening back up, we look forward to getting back in-person to introduce ourselves and show them how we can help.
