Boomin has extended the time it allows agents accept an online property valuation generated by SmartVal, its property valuation tool, from 15 minutes to an hour.
The property portal has long maintained that the aim of the tool is to harnesses the expertise of local agents to provide a more accurate, real-time online valuation than any other valuation tool on the market.
Visitors to the Boomin platform can request a SmartVal from local agents. This facility is powered in part by the ValPal Network’s valuation tool, owned by Angels Media, publisher of Estate Agent Today and Letting Agent Today.
Supplied with information from the property owner, and supplemented with detailed market data, the selected agents will have all they need to provide a valuation within a fixed period of 60 minutes.
Only once the SmartVal is submitted the agent will gain access to the full contact details of the customer.
Early data reinforces the benefit of speed to the overall experience for sellers and landlords, according to Boomin.
The portal has increased the agent response time despite claiming that on average it takes local agents less than seven minutes to deliver a SmartVal and less than ten minutes before they are engaging directly with their active customer.
Boomin has also announced that it will soon be launching a customisable SmartVal widget that agents can host on their own website.
All customer requests through the widget will only go to the agent hosting the widget, guaranteeing them the exclusive opportunity and a new customer contact.
Michael Bruce, CEO and founder, said: “SmartVal has been one of the stand out features of our first year and its power to generate new business for agents and its popularity with consumers is becoming increasingly evident.
“Our latest enhancement to the service, extending the response times from 15 minutes to 60 minutes will enable SmartVal to scale further in the coming year handing more business to Boomin agents. Our widget and nurturing programme will also give our agents greater opportunity, conversion and flexibility.
“SmartVal represents what Boomin is all about; using innovation and technology to create new tangible and quantifiable opportunities for agents. The conversion of just one SmartVal to a completed sale is on average enough to cover the fee for being on the Boomin platform for one year.”
Estate agents listing properties on Boomin have been able to do so for free – until now.
Property firms are being asked to pay to advertise homes for sale or to let on the property platform from 1 April, but it is not clear at this stage what the uptake from agents will look like, despite a fresh request from EYE yesterday.
In response, the statement from Bruce merely added: “We are so pleased with the support from agents who are signing up to Boomin as part of our ongoing programme of getting out there and engaging with them in the process.”
Comments (19)
pair of w…..s if you ask me who love nothing more that to get the industry running around talking about them
Its a NO from me!
Now, i may be cynical but Mr Bruce says a years worth of Boomin is the same as one sale, i’ve seen quotes of £400 a month for Boomin so £4800 a year..
But this is the same Mr Bruce who brought us “Conmisery” and sought to drive down fees for all Estate Agents as we are rip-off merchants but Purplebricks are currently £999 UK £1500 London inc VAT..
So is he trying to say that Purplebricks are far too cheap to be considered and that the real cost of selling is £4800 and everything he said before hand is pure fabrication and lies? or are we still rip-off merchants but Boomin would like a slice of the action and does that make them rip-off merchants?
The Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 – (“the CPR’s”)
A commercial practice is a misleading action if it contains false information as to specified matters (including the price); or if its overall presentation in any way deceives or is likely to deceive the average consumer in relation to the specified matters and it causes or is likely to cause the average consumer to take a transactional decision he would not have taken otherwise.
Is your ‘smart valuation’ correct, whoever is encouraging their systems? ….. Think before you act.
I have been trying Boomin, well what can I say 0 commissions 0 true leads 0 converted valuations.
90% of the smart vals leads are from People wanting to purchase / probate/ solicitors / landlords looking to remortgage ect. How do I know this you ask? they have been contacted by myself and it’s feedback.
There is nothing that I can class as working well in Boomin,
It’s more like a lucky dip of which agent is asked for the SmartVal
I’m not keen on rushing to give a poorly researched, inaccurate opinion on the price of someone’s home.
The agent will be wrong and will have lost credibility.
This feedback has been shared with Boomin.
Their vision doesn’t match mine so I’m struggling to justify paying £300pcm to use a service that I don’t need.
Any enthusiastic agents out there who can persuade me to pack for Boomin?
Michael & Kenny have many enemies across the East Midlands who are still owed money from their disastrous pre Purple Bricks project, (Burchell Edwards & Ashley Adams), eventually flogged off to Connells. With PB finally being seen for what it really is, they have much to do to convince anyone in the industry they deserve to be taken seriously about anything!
Not just the East Midlands… West too !!! Your comment is spot on.
?????? Boomin states: Supplied with information from the property owner, and supplemented with detailed market data, the selected agents will have all they need to provide a valuation within a fixed period of 60 minutes.
That borders on being illegal, a breach of TPO Code of Conduct and CPR’s. You cannot ever provide a correct valuation without an inspection at the property.
Should an agent under value a property based on reckless behaviour ……. hope you have deep pockets from the fallout. I’m surprised that if this statement by Boomin is all there is to a valuation, Trading Standards and other Consumer organisations have not jumped in with a very big stick.
Yet more airtime for this person who tried to disrupt our industry and jobs.
a deeper more immersive engagement ….do you want one? Do you? You do, don’t you?
They don’t get the data , you do ? In the same way agents are getting data from the instant valuation widgets that are widely used . Smart Val is a clever extension to that to help agents make contact with more local sellers and landlords in a deeper more immersive engagement .
So Smartval and or Boomin don’t retain any data at all ? As an agent once you get the notification all the potential vendors data is wiped from Smartval and Boomin ?
Bruce said the lead is not shared with other agents (yet?), but he avoided saying it is not shared with anyone but the hosting agent. Presumably Boomin takes a copy (otherwise, why bother?), and perhaps sell the lead to other service providers (but not “agents“, guv!).
You have hit the nail firmly on the head there
So you put the Widget on your website and Boomin get the data of potential vendors who have specifically sought you out online? No thanks
I think you have misunderstood the product and how it works….
A potential vendor Googles Joe Bloggs Estate Agents and goes to the Website, potential vendor requests a smart val via the widget and puts their info in. Data sent to Joe Bloggs Estate Agent, Joe Bloggs provides smart val. As a by product of this Smart Val and Boomin get the potential vendors data via the widget ?
Happy to be corrected if wrong.
No, I don’t think AgentQ73 has misunderstood how Bruce’s widget works.
It can be presumed that an estate agent’s website will include their contact telephone number and email address. If a potential vendor has gone directly to an agent’s website, clearly they did a good job with their branding and creating public awareness. Why then should the agent feature a Boomin branded widget that allows Bruce & Co to step in and take a copy of the data submitted by the agent’s own lead?
Any good estate agent will already have a simple ‘contact us’ form on their website for a potential vendor to fill in with their details and that of the property they need valued.
Perhaps Boomin is going to pay estate agents to feature the widget, considering it most likely will be a banner that advertises the Boomin brand, and provides Bruce & Co with oh-so valuable data. Why would an agent do it for free?