Financial Post, March 11, 2020
Builder optimistic online real estate marketplace will reduce days on the market
CALGARY, Alberta – (Business Wire) – One of Alberta’s leading home builders is piloting a novel way to sell properties using Bōde Canada’s innovative and convenient online real estate marketplace. Cedarglen Homes says it’s hoping to improve customer experience by allowing buyers to deal directly with Cedarglen to make an offer and negotiate a contract online.
“The Bōde business model appeals to Cedarglen Homes because it addresses a growing gap between conventional processes and customer experiences when purchasing a home,” says Cedarglen Homes president Howard Tse. “One of our favourite features is the ability to make us an offer online from the comfort of your own home.”
Tse says he’s optimistic the Bōde model will put more eyes on Cedarglen’s properties.
“Greater exposure will reduce the number of days available on the market allowing the opportunity to add fresh units and more selection to the market,” he adds.
The Bōde and Cedarglen partnership will see eight homes in Calgary listed with the Bōde platform. The spec homes are located in different Cedarglen communities and range in price from the high 300’s and up.
Bōde Canada is the first online real estate marketplace allowing buyers and sellers to transact homes online directly without the services of a realtor. The seller pays only a 1% service fee and only when the property is sold.
“We’ve been talking to progressive builders all over the province, from custom to spec, small to large, and we’re hearing the same thing – that sales are challenging and profit margins are tight,” says Jeff Jackson, Bōde’s VP of Enterprise Sales. “Through consumers, developers and builders, we now have $67M of properties represented by Bōde. We expect this number to climb quickly in the spring market. Further, our platform has nearly 6,000 MLS-listed properties in the Calgary Marketplace. For those buyers comfortable searching for real estate and negotiating deals without the services of an agent, our cutting edge technology allows consumers to take full control of the process. Not only does this consumer-empowerment save money, it provides full transparency on a process that has often been viewed as opaque and complicated,” says Jackson.
Cedarlgen Homes is the second large scale Alberta builder to enlist the services of Bōde Canada. Earlier this year, River Edge development in Springbank also listed 49 lots in Bōde’s marketplace.
Jackson says Bōde is a great fit for home builders since new home buyers are typically “handed off” to the builders’ sales staff to close the deal. With the Bōde model, the sales staff is well equipped to show the homes themselves and deal directly with the buyers with no middleman in between.
Tse says it’s been a tough few years for Alberta home builders, but things are starting to improve pointing to recent drops in interest rates, adjustments to the mortgage stress test and the option to use novel platforms such as Bōde.
“With any partnership, there is always a beginning. This partnership begins with a commitment to ultimately sell the Bōde-listed homes and deliver a great experience. The future of the partnership relies on this commitment to delivering value to our homebuyers, Bōde and Cedarglen Homes,” says Tse.
About Bōde Canada:
Bōde is Calgary’s first real estate marketplace and a smarter way to buy and sell a home. Bōde is reimagining real estate with an intuitive, universal platform that gives everybody with an index finger the ability to control their real estate destiny. Bōde reduces commissions by 75% by only collecting a 1% service fee when the deal is closed.
About Cedarglen Homes:
Cedarglen Homes has been a longstanding homebuilder in Calgary for over 38 years. With a mission to ‘innovate for better living’ and a vision to ‘think without limits,’ Cedarglen Homes strives to create both beautiful and functional homes that truly work for homeowners’ everyday needs.
