what’s new

A new real estate tech startup lets homebuyers see the demographics of their neighbors, including their political affiliation.

Why it matters

Real estate agents are increasingly being cut out of the home buying process as potential home buyers turn to online platforms and brokerage fees continue to rise. While the Internet has made it easier for buyers to access detailed data about their neighborhoods, housing platforms do not share this information easily. Now, with the addition of a recent class-action lawsuit that sent shockwaves through the industry, Oyssey is working to overcome the typical housing search filters and enable better agent integration.

What to know

With 93 percent of homebuyers regretting it in 2023, according to a study by Clever Real Estate, Nierenberg said the continued interest in Oyssey shows that homebuyers need not only contract protection but more information about their property prospects. Nierenberg said the data clearly shows a “shift” between how saturated professionals in the industry are and how “bad” the industry is overall.

What is Oyssey?

Oyssey is a real estate search management platform with agent integration. In addition to the typical housing search filters, Oyssey allows potential buyers to view social and political data.

With Oyssey, a real estate agent with a subscription invites a potential buyer to join the Oyssey real estate search management platform for free. Once people agree to the terms of use, privacy policy and purchase fee agreement, they can search for properties with the help of their agent.

When a new buyer is interested in a property, their agent can communicate with them on the listing by uploading files and documents, “everything will be centralized.”

“It’s a customer purchase management platform that allows brokers to manage all the chaos with a legal strategy to protect the consumer,” Nierenberg said.

Nierenberg, who is a former Boston real estate agent, isn’t suggesting that people shouldn’t consider whether a home has a leak or mold of some kind, but instead that community data — derived from precinct information — can lead buyers to choose better homes. That additional data “incentivizes” buyers to commit to potential home repairs and add value to the community overall, Nierenberg said.

“A lot of buyers look at several properties and may have three or four properties that they really like,” Nierenberg said. “At the end of the day, if they had some additional data that helped increase their comfort or confidence in a certain home, that home became a better buy for them.”

Real Estate Changes 2025

A recent class-action settlement against the National Association of Realtors means that starting in 2025, buyers will have to sign contracts with agents to inspect homes as well as negotiate commission payments.

Nierenberg said with the Justice Department’s decision, the overall homebuyer industry will change over the next 18 months.

“That’s why we’re incredibly excited and grateful to launch this product right now, because it gives independent brokers and agents and brokers who are really trying to prioritize consumer protection and trying to match buyers with an opportunity to use a product that it really adds value for their buyers,” said Nierenberg. “We make contracts something the buyer has control over.”

Nierenberg said the entire real estate industry has been “caring for platforms” like Zillow “for too long.” He noted that agents have recently called the platforms “predatory” and a way to “decrease the value of homes as an investment.” It was his own experience buying homes in his 20s that drove Nierenberg to provide data and better relationships for everyone in the market.

“Buyers and agents are fed up with platforms,” ​​Nierenberg said. “They’re not in the business of helping buyers buy the best possible homes that we think they can buy, and I think there’s a niche in the market where someone can come in very quickly and push back into the platforms and provide real buyer value. “

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What happens next

Oyssey will launch in South Florida and New York in the coming weeks. Nierenberg said the product is expected to be rolled out nationwide in the spring.