Merlin Labs, the Center of Innovation for HomeServices of America, was established in October 2017 in Austin, TX.
One of Merlin's overarching product goals is to create a consumer-led real estate platform that empowers more people to experience homeownership and connect them with the right experts (our agents and mortgage loan officers) to guide them through the process.
The two core offerings of the Merlin Platform are the Brokerage Website and the Content Management System.
The Merlin Platform is a responsive website that works well on everything from desktops to mobile devices.
Our Challenge
To provide a delightful real estate experience for each brokerage within HomeServices of America, so they would surpass the larger platforms at a local level and retain their brand identity.
A robust property search experience
Helping buyers find their dream home using our property search experience.
- Multiple Location Search
- Custom Boundary Search
- Market-Specific Filter Selections
- Nearby Me Location Search
- Saved Search Functionality
- Email Notification Alerts
An automated valuation model
Helping sellers compare estimates on their home.
Our platform includes a robust automated valuation model for users looking to sell their home. Users can search for their address and receive multiple estimates of their homes’ value along with information about average pricing in their area and guidance about next steps in the selling process.
A customizable website experience
Helping agents set themselves apart and establish their own presence in the market through our tools.
Among the various options available to brokerage-side users of our platform, agents were given a visual editor tool with which they could build out custom layouts for their personal sites. These sites were hosted on subdomains of the brokerage’s main site and allowed agents to provide a more personalized experience for their clients, with information about themselves and carousels with their exclusive listings.
A platform built for theming
One platform supporting many brands.
Our platform was built for use by more than 30 real estate brokerages, so it was important that every part of the site from colors, to copy, to typography and layout be easily themeable.
Merlin MLS Aggregator
Our proprietary solution
One of the challenges we encountered as we scaled the platform was aggregating and normalizing listing data. A single brokerage may have over a dozen MLSs (source of truth for listing information), and each MLS may have a unique API design, listing schema, and even city spellings. To solve this issue, we developed and launched a proprietary MLS aggregator, which provides near-real time updates and allows us to provide the same features and user experience to everyone, no matter the source or structure of the underlying data.
Outcomes
Merlin Labs extended the platform to 7 brokerage tenants and themed each website to match existing brand colors and typography
Overall we had 5 websites in alpha, 1 website in beta, and 1 website in production.
- Registrations are up 267% year-over-year
- Leads are up 65% year-over-year
- Sessions are up 75% year-over-year
- Users are up 73% year-over-year
- New Users are up 70% year-over-year
- Bounce rate is down 46% year-over-year
- Pageviews are up 84% year-over-year
