We are being copied…AGAIN!

I am very excited to pass along a big announcement from two of my biggest competitors. Why?!? Let me explain.

Earlier this week, Rocket Mortgage, one of the largest mortgage companies in the country, spent nearly $2 BILLION to acquire Redfin, one of the biggest names in real estate. You may recall that Re/Max (the largest real estate brand in the world!) did something similar back in 2016 (I wrote about it then too).

They aim to create a “one-stop-shop” experience for clients so they can buy, sell, and finance homes from a single source. Hmmmm, why didn’t I think of that? 😉

The biggest brand names in real estate are joining forces and copying my one-stop-shop business model. Some may say this trend of big companies creating end-to-end consumer “ecosystems” is bad for my business. Should I be concerned about my market share?

Perhaps, but the overwhelming feeling I have is one of flattery. I’m absolutely flattered that the likes of Rocket Mortgage and Redfin, publicly-traded companies valued at BILLIONS of dollars, are trying to emulate us!

The Blue Waters Group has believed from our very beginnings that the customer benefits from competent and compassionate advisors who can offer both mortgage and real estate services. With Rocket Mortgage & Redfin literally spending billions of bucks, no longer is our business model the obscure alternative; it is the one that leading industry players are striving for. No longer is our platform one that I need to defend with blog posts titled Is What I Do Legal?; it is the one that’s copied by others.

We are still unique from these big company aspirations in that our associates are able to offer both mortgage and real estate services (all of us are licensed both as mortgage loan originators and real estate agents) while Rocket simply hopes to pair mortgage and real estate services more efficiently by providing them under the same corporate umbrella. Nevertheless, this week’s move by Rocket Mortgage & Redfin further validates the craft I’ve been honing for nearly my entire career.

Working as both a mortgage broker and REALTOR is not an easy task, but with a 22-year head start on these firms and others who are sure to follow suit, I’m confident The Blue Waters Group will continue to be imitated but never duplicated!