Do you ever look around your office and wish you could revamp? Are you jealous when you hear rumors of Google’s office slides and nap pods? Read on to see how Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Reliance Partners has built a revolutionary office.
Franchise: Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Reliance Partners
Broker: Daryl Rogers
Number of offices: 2
Number of agents: 85
You recently built an office that is quite revolutionary for the real estate industry. Tell us about the design.
Our new office in Roseville, Calif., is modeled to resemble a beautifully designed home, while creating an innovative, consumer-centric atmosphere. The office has a Touch Screen Bar that features three 32-inch touch screen tablet devices, which homebuyers can use to research homes as well as alter the landscape and room design of available properties to visualize how they could make a house into a home that reflects their personal style and needs.
Our office entranceway and lobby are styled to resemble a living room, complete with a mantel, fireplace, couch and television that features home-buying segments from the Better Homes and Gardens® Real Estate produced reality show “Home, First Home,” information about community events and local properties on the market.
The conference room is decorated as a dining room with a traditional family table. It also has a 70-inch touch screen, allowing agents to show homes to customers without leaving the office.
What inspired this office redesign?
The most important goal was for the office to be customer-centric. The development of new online home-buying tools leads potential homebuyers to spend more time on the Internet, researching opportunities in the market. While online resources have helped to successfully educate homebuyers throughout the home-buying process, it has also led to an isolating experience for the buyer. Additionally, at times it can be difficult for a consumer to differentiate between a real estate expert and an amateur giving unsolicited advice. This design offers them the best of both worlds.
How has the new office impacted your agents?
Traditionally, real estate offices have been built for agents to use in their downtime when they aren’t showing homes. In these older modeled offices, agents have their own designated cubicles, a design that leads to isolation, therefore decreasing collaboration. In designing our new office, we were determined to create a working area that encourages creativity, teamwork and innovation.
What has been the community response to the office?
Roseville has a high population of younger, tech-savvy homebuyers whose parents and grandparents are assisting them financially in the home-buying process.
This group of potential homebuyers has expressed enthusiasm toward the technological offerings in our new office, with an aesthetic design that appeals to all generations. Additionally, this group recognizes our brand’s approach to technology and social media, which on a national scale, is responsible for Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate resonating with this new generation of homebuyers.
