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Residential marketplace Realoq has expanded to Florida, Georgia and North Carolina, according to an announcement earlier this week.

Anvesh Chakravartula | Credit: LinkedIn

“Unlike industry stalwarts, Realoq’s free-to-use service offers a hand-picked and custom-vetted pool of local agents to provide home buyers and sellers with peace of mind, full transparency and top quality,” Realoq founder and CEO Anvesh Chakravartula said in a prepared statement.

Available in California, Georgia, Florida, Idaho, Texas, North Carolina, Oregon and Washington, Realoq’s marketplace includes home search, agent-consumer matching, and transaction and customer relationship management technology for its agent and broker partners.

On each listing page, homebuyers can view basic listing information alongside key monthly, quarterly and annual market trends stretching back several years. Listing pages also include mortgage rates, a mortgage calculator and the option to get pre-qualified from one of the Mortgage Research Center’s participating members. If available, buyers can also request to speak with a qualified Realoq partner agent to talk about homebuying options.

Meanwhile, homesellers’ Realoq journey starts by providing their home address, which gives them a list of Realoq partner agents who can list their homes. Realoq provides sellers with market insights and personalized support throughout the transaction process, fueled by its customer relationship management (CRM) platform.

“Buyers are able to pick a real estate agent that suits them best,” Chakravartula told Inman. “This means that buyers are consciously engaging with agents, which in turn makes the whole process more efficient.”

Realoq doesn’t charge partner agents and brokers upfront, set-up or monthly subscription fees, and provides free access to lead and customer relationship management tools through its Realoq Connect portal. Partner agents pay a flat fee when they close a referral-based transaction, which is 25 percent of their commission.

“The platform is attractive as it generates free leads to agents who are already verified through the Realoq system,” Chakravartula said. “This means that agents have a clear idea of what these buyers are looking for while ensuring that they have the qualifications to meet [their needs].”

Chakravartula said Realoq will spend the year improving its platform and market coverage as it aims to stand toe-to-toe with portal behemoths Zillow, Redfin and Realtor.com, and tech-forward brokerages like Compass. Realoq has its brokerage license in California, Georgia, Florida, Idaho, Texas, North Carolina, Oregon and Washington, but has yet to offer brokerage services.

“Realoq’s platform addresses several long-standing challenges in the real estate industry, including the inefficiency and complexity of traditional transactions, which often involve excessive paperwork, lack of transparency and opaque procedures,” he said. “By automating and digitizing these processes, Realoq significantly reduces the time and effort required for transactions.”

The 18-month-old company secured $3 million in Seed funding in December with UK-based TRK Ventures Fund as the sole investor.

Email Marian McPherson