The
role
and
value
of
real
estate
agents
has
come
under
scrutiny
since
the

National
Association
of
Realtors
(NAR)

settled
a
bevy
of

antitrust
lawsuits
related
to
offers
of
agent
compensation
on
Realtor-owned

multiple
listing
services
(MLSs).

While
it’s
unclear
exactly
how
home
buyers
and
sellers
are
reacting
to
the
situation,
a
startup
tech
company
called

Rayse
is
“pushing
back
on
the
settlement”
with
a
new
communication
platform
that
allows
prospective
buyers
to
track
what
their
agents
are
doing
in
real
time.

Rayse
believes
that
its
platform
injects
much-needed
transparency
between
buyers
and
their
agents
so
that
agents
can
better
convey
the
specific
tasks
they’re
working
on
and
what
their
value
is
to
the
client.

“There’s
a
big
disconnect
in
understanding
what
the
agents
are
actually
doing
because
finding
the
home
online
is
actually
only
about
5%
of
it,”
Ashley
Terrell-Kayiran,
chief
revenue
office
for
Rayse,
said
in
a
statement.
“But
a
lot
of
what
comes
in
isn’t
going
to
be
on
the
contract
at
closing
or
going
through
the
disclosures.
What
we
want
to
do
is
be
able
to
bring
to
light
everything
the
agents
are
actually
doing.”

Research
from

WAV
Group
suggests
that
Rayse
has
its
work
cut
out.
In
a
survey,
71%
of
homebuyers
think
their
agents
spend
less
than
15
hours
working
on
their
behalf.
But
Rayse
claims
that
buyer
agents
spend
roughly
87
hours
on
a
single
transaction.

The
app
has
three
components
that
Rayse
believes
will
help
to
boost
transparency.
First,
it
helps
agents
pitch
buyers
on
their
services
by
providing
data,
compensation
expectations
and
buyer
agreements.
The
second
involves
the
home
shopping
process,
as
the
platform
keeps
track
of
properties
the
buyer
has
toured
by
integrating
MLS
data.
The
third
component
is
closing
reports
that
show
everything
the
agent
did
for
the
buyer.

The
company
decided
to
initially
roll
out
the
communication
platform
to
buyer
agents
since
the
new
rules
mandated
by
the

NAR
settlement
primarily
affect
them,
so
buyer
agents
have
more
of
a
need
to
communicate
their
value
to
clients
than
listings
agents
do.
But
Rayse
also
plans
integration
for
seller
agents
sometime
in
2025.

The
product
offers
white-label
branding
that
allows
buyer
agents
and
brokerages
to
customize
the
interface
for
their
clients.
White-label
branding
can
also
be
used
for
brokerages
when
trying
to
recruit
new
agents.

Rayse
has
rolled
out
this
product
to
more
than
200
brokerages,
including

NextHome
and

Howard
Hanna
Real
Estate.
The
company
also
has
a
partnership
with


California
Regional
MLS,
the
largest
MLS
in
the
country.
Rayse’s
co-founders
are
NextHome
CEO

James
Dwiggins
and

Christine
Jacobson,
who
recently
joined

Realtor.com.

Terrell-Kayiran
said
that
Rayse
will
first
prioritize
onboarding
for
its
investors,
which
include
NextHome,
Howard
Hanna
Real
Estate,

Berkshire
Hathaway
HomeServices,
RE/MAX,
WAV
Group,
Tom
Ferry
and
a
number
of
MLSs.

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