Over a year ago, “our board directed us to develop a solution to address the growing lack of choice in this technology sector, given the natural fit with our current lockbox business,” says Scott Fisher, founder and CEO of SentriLock, a wholly owned NAR subsidiary.
CHICAGO – Many brokers and agents will soon have a new showing-service option. SentriLock LLC, a real estate tech provider, announced that it will launch SentriKey Showing Service for all of its current lockbox customers on March 31, 2020. It will be widely available to all Realtor® associations and multiple listing services (MLSs) later in the year.
The service will be available to all agents and brokers, regardless of which lockbox provider their MLS uses.
SentriLock, a wholly owned subsidiary of the National Association of Realtors® (NAR), says it’s been assessing the need for a new product over the past year in light of growing industry consolidation in the showing service space.
“Our board directed us to develop a solution to address the growing lack of choice in this technology sector, given the natural fit with our current lockbox business,” says Scott Fisher, founder and CEO of SentriLock. “With recent industry acquisitions, this validates the decision that a trusted partner is needed more than ever to ensure Realtors have a choice in showing service solutions. We did this with great success in the lockbox space 18 years ago and look forward to extending this approach into showing services.”
Zillow’s announcement Wednesday that it’s acquiring the ShowingTime platform raised concerns for some real estate professionals about the security of their data. SentriKey says its commitment to safeguarding data entered into the system will be just as vigorous as the measures that SentriLock uses to protect clients’ homes.
For those who use SentriLock, the showing system will be accessible via the same secure, easy-to-use mobile app and website that customers already use to open and manage their lockboxes.
Over 350 MLSs and Realtor associations – and over 350,000 users – currently use SentriLock. The new lockbox system will be integrated into the showing scheduling platform, a first for the industry, to create a seamless access experience. According to SentriLock, the new platform leverages artificial intelligence to create a virtual assistant that frees agents from administrative tasks associated with setting up showing appointments.
“Consumers rely on the assistance of a trusted real estate professional to guide them through one of the most complex and consequential transactions of their life, and the development of SentriKey is part of our ongoing effort to ensure our members have the tools they need – best-in-class solutions – when working with buyers and sellers,” says NAR CEO Bob Goldberg. For decades, the embrace of disruption has been a central tenet at NAR. That principle guided not just the creation of Sentrilock but also the founding of realtor.com, the country’s first listing portal, 25 years ago, Goldberg says.
“Now, of course, free online listings are a foregone conclusion for anyone selling or buying a home,” he adds. “Ultimately, we took a potential disruption and turned it into an opportunity. I’m confident SentriKey will have the same effect.”
Source: National Association of Realtors®
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Author: kerrys