The real estate digital mobile application that is changing the future of the industry was co-founded by Fredrik Eklund from Bravo's "Million Dollar Listing" and Thomas Ma. On August 2 Drai's Nightclub in Las Vegas celebrated the Real app that is modeled after major social media apps in regards to layout and functionality. The over-the-top launch party made quite the splash in the Vegas nightlife scene with showgirls, celebrity sightings, confetti and inspirational speeches from the founders.
The app is designed for use by real estate professionals, buyers and sellers to facilitate social networking in real-time. The style of the app was inspired by Instagram while the chat feature was inspired by WhatsApp to provide agents a tool for free promotion of real estate services to potential clients and partners. The concept was sparked during the early days of the pandemic as the real estate market stagnated due to shut downs and isolation mandates.
“The pandemic changed how we communicate; everything is digital and much faster. National – and even global –real estate is becoming one big market as people [move] around more and [search] globally,” explains Eklund, the chief visionary and co-founder of the Real app. Buyers and sellers can connect with compatible agents who align with their personality and specific needs while agents can share premarket properties with buyers and expedite lead generation with the Real app.
Combining Ma's tech advancements and Eklund's knowledge and experience with leveraging his following to retain and foster connections seems to be the perfect combination for success. Within 11 months of the initial launch, Real had 147,500 downloads and continues to grow. Co-founder Ma mentions, "We wanted to give talented agents an opportunity to share their stories, their knowledge and their experience and give them control of what listings and recommendations they bring to their audience.”
The over-the-top event at Drai’s Nightclub was most definitely apt to celebrate such a great milestone in the projection of the real estate industry. The Real app may prove to be a great step towards the future of real estate as many buyers have experienced bidding wars or being hours too late on submitting offers for desired homes. The speed at which property sales happen as of late reveals the need for tools like the Real app that can keep up with the fast pace of modern day real estate.
Photography by: BFA courtesy of Real
