Real Estate Marketing & Beyond
Amazon is offering home buyers who use a real estate agent via its new TurnKey program thousands of dollars worth of free smart home technology, plus home service credits, as it looks to push into the real estate sector.
The online retail giant launched its new homebuying program in 15 U.S. cities this week, in partnership with Realogy, which operates real estate brands including Coldwell Banker, Century 21, ERA Real Estate, Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate, ZipRealty, and Sotheby’s International Realty.
TurnKey matches buyers with a qualified Realogy agent in their local area. Should they close on a property with that agent, Amazon will give them $1,000 to $5,000 worth of Amazon home products and services as an incentive.
“Up until now, there were basically two parts of the journey of a homebuyer: There's the journey of finding, buying and closing on your home, and then there's what has been an entirely separate journey of having to settle into that house and make it a home,” Eric Chesin, senior vice president and head of strategy at Realogy, told Forbes.com. “We recognize, as a homebuyer, that it's all one continuous journey, and so we developed a program with Amazon to be able to serve that homebuyer across the entire spectrum.”
Access to the program is available here. Simply enter your personal details and TurnKey will connect you to an agent in your local area.
TurnKey officials say that all Realogy agents in the program have been vetted and have received special training to be included in the matching service.
Buyers will receive free credit for Amazon’s products and services based on the price of the home they buy. For example, buying a property in the $150,000 to $399,000 range will entitle the new homeowners to free Echo Dot, Echo Show and Ring Doorbell products. They’ll also get credits for Amazon’s unpacking, cleaning, furniture assembly and other home services.
Those who buy a home worth $400,000 will receive six Amazon Echo products, Ring Doorbell, smart locks and lightbulbs, Fire TV technology and Sonos speakers, pus $1,500 in Amazon home services credits. Those credits can be spent on moving services, landscaping, smart home device setup and home improvement projects.
The TurnKey program is initially launching in Phoenix; Los Angeles; Sacramento, California; San Francisco; Denver; Tampa and Orlando, Florida; Atlanta; Chicago; Minneapolis; Charlotte, North Carolina; Dallas-Fort Worth; Houston; Seattle; and Washington, D.C.
The program will be made available in other metros in the future.
