A new portal-style PropTech product has launched and wants to recruit estate agents to its fold – despite describing the way agents work now as “outdated.”
Vyomm is a portal that currently operates as a showcase for a small number of high-end homes on sale or to let but ultimately wants to operate across a wider market.
The platform enables landlords and vendors to upload details of properties before then offering the listings to ‘winner’ agents who effectively bid for the instructions.
The sellers or landlords who have created property profiles and uploaded photos and other information, then wait to receive the agents’ bids, valuations and indications of a marketing strategy.
The portal charges agents only when a home is known to sell via the platform.
A spokesman for Vyomm told Estate Agent Today: “The way estate agents work is quite outdated. So imagine an Airbnb type of technology but for property and selling.”
Vyomm is the brainchild of businessman Utsav Goenka, who has married into the Mittal steel family; the product has been five years in development.
Publicity for the product says: “We all enjoy a good story, novel or movie, and in the social media era, people are telling their own stories every day, forging connections and stimulating emotions. In an ever-crowded, noisy property market, the art of story-telling holds key.
“Vyomm launched to fast forward the property market with its unique technology, which took five years of development, leveraging the power of visual narrative. By showcasing homes and presenting them with modern visually appealing images and videos (think Instagram and Airbnb), viewers are immersed in the visually rich living experience of the home and emotionally connect to it.”
Three high-end agencies – Carter Jonas, Beauchamp Estates and Sotheby’s International Realty – are “embracing Vyomm’s technology” according to the firm, which is first operating in London’s premium market but has “a view to go global.”
In a section of its website aimed at attracting estate agencies to sign up, Vyomm claims: “Zoopla and Rightmove have been presenting properties much the same way for over a decade. Vyomm changes all that. Browsing a home on Vyomm is as close as you can get to experiencing being there. You not only attract more buyers, but also the right ones for each property, allowing you to close more deals in less time.”
And on the site the creator, Utsav Goenka, writes: “As resources become available on a tap, and marketing and sales converge in a digital, social media-driven world, large corporate agencies are starting to look a lot like Goliath – big and powerful but slow to move.
“The independent agent is the David – small, but savvy and agile. With the right technology platform and support channels, they are ready to go forth and carve out their niche in the market.
“It’s not a question of who will win, as perhaps there is place for both. Only one thing is certain! The high ground shall belong to those who embrace the future by engaging the technology and tools that differentiate them and set themselves up to better serve the market.”