A new real estate platform launching this month in several areas in the United States is giving potential homebuyers the opportunity to find out the political leanings of their neighbors even before they sign the deal.
Oyssey, a tech startup, is soft-launching a real estate management platform in South Florida and New York City this month. The company said they developed the tool to let potential buyers search for homes in neighborhoods that align with their political affiliation, among others.
The website will show the typical political leanings of the neighborhood based on election results and campaign contributions.
Why Was the Tool Created?
Huw Nierenberg,a former Boston real estate agent and the CEO of Oyssey, said they designed the tool because they believe buyers' priorities have evolved.
"Buyers often move from asking whether the water heater is leaking to wondering if their neighbors are folks they'd like to invite to dinner someday," he said, as quoted by the New York Post.
Read more: You Can Buy a 1-Bedroom Tiny Home on Amazon for $50K, Comes With Solar Power and Designer Kitchen
In addition to showing political affiliations, the website will also show buyers other social data that might influence their decision to purchase a property in the area. This includes the average age, education, and income of the people living in their neighborhood.
Furthermore, the company said its website can also act as a tool to streamline contract negotiations between buyers and sellers, per Axios.
How Does the Website Work?
Buyers cannot access the website until they receive an invitation from their agent. That said, buyers do not have to pay any fee to access the website once they get the link. On the other hand, real estate agents and brokers would need to pay a monthly subscription service to be able to use Oyssey's platform.
Under the recent settlement of a lawsuit against the National Association of Realtors (NAR), agents are now required to sign a written contract with buyers before providing certain services, including taking them on home tours. The platform allows agents to do this digitally. Once the buyer signs the digital contract, they are given access to local listings.
Furthermore, the platform allows buyers to communicate with their agents and store important documents related to their homebuying process.
