High-quality images, aerial drone photography and even 3D online house tours have become commonplace in residential real estate listings. But when Nate Strom and Seth Greenwell were Milwaukee-area real estate agents in the early 2010s, that wasn't the case.
"We were early adopters of technology and we were always very interested in the new things that were coming to the market," Strom said. "There wasn't a lot of visual real estate tools at the time."
Strom and Greenwell, who were agents with Realty Executives, found it expensive and inconvenient to access cutting-edge digital marketing services — so they began doing it themselves. Strom learned to work a camera and fly a drone, and his listing images caught the attention of other local agents.
In 2015, Strom and Greenwell formed what is now VRX Media Group — it was originally called TenX Media — to offer their services to others. Agents can book online and receive their images the next business day.
Less than a decade later, VRX Media Group has grown to more than 100 employees — including 24 in Wisconsin — that offer services nationwide. Earlier this month, online real estate behemoth Zillow Group Inc. announced it acquired VRX Media for an undisclosed amount.
"Our relationship with Zillow started as a partnership. We were working on several different projects running their 3D home product," said Strom, VRX Media's CEO. "Their values match completely with what we're always trying to do, which... is real-estate-agent focused."
Zillow (Nasdaq: ZG) plans to integrate VRX Media into its ShowingTime+ software, which will allow VRX to extend its services to even more agents across the country. The majority of VRX Media's team has joined Zillow, which is based in Seattle.
VRX Media grew without any outside investment, Strom said. After achieving success in the Milwaukee market, VRX Media began launching in other U.S. cities, starting in Sarasota, Florida.
Strom and his early team would fly around the country hiring and training photographers and conducting in-person sales meetings. Back home, they'd support their remote team from the Milwaukee area.
These days, Strom doesn't regularly shoot photos but said he has personally photographed more than 3,000 Milwaukee houses throughout his career.
"Our city is a rich diversity in architecture and landscape and I never imagined I'd have the opportunity to experience seeing and capturing images of so many different types of homes," Strom said. "The pure volume of homes I saw really grew my love for our city here and the people in it."
