Homeshake is Shakin' Things Up

It's a hot housing market right now, but locally-based Homeshake is helping to make it a little less complicated and a lot more affordable.

"Homeshake is a Cincinnati-based real estate company that is first-to-market with a buyer to seller home sales platform, helping customers deal directly and complete a sale with 1% commissions," says Cincinnati-based Nick Rabin, Homeshake's CEO and co-founder.

With real estate being the top industry in the country, Rabin wanted to build something that was innovative to the real estate world. So, he teamed up with his co-founder and real estate attorney, Jonathan Bennie, along with several other local resources to launch it in January 2020. "When we were formulating ideas of the concept, we turned to local institutions to assist with our vision. Cincinnati has a wealth of talent right here in our backyard," Rabin says. "Cintrifuse helped us streamline the Homeshake concept by creating a design sprint."

This led Homeshake to set up shop inside UC’s 1819 Innovation Hub, where they tapped into the creative brilliance of students, faculty, and staff. "The genius of Cintrifuse and UC’s 1819 Innovation Hub brought our idea to life," Bennie says. "As a result of working together with local businesses, we can now help home sellers keep on average $25,000 in agent commissions per home sale." Since launching, Homeshake has built more than $20 million in transaction volume, with an average sale price at 2.5 times higher than the local market average, and saved customers over $1 million in would-be commissions to real estate agents.

The inspiration behind Homeshake comes from the team’s idea that buying or selling a home should be as easy a process as it is to purchase insurance, buying or selling a car, or going on vacation. "Homeshake provides the tools and support for people to complete a home sale from start to finish," explains Rabin. "Our solution lets buyers search, tour, and communicate directly with sellers. They can make an offer and follow that all the way through closing on our Homeshake dashboard which keeps everyone on track and organized. Plus, customers have full access to Homeshake's team of professionals who are only a click away and highly attentive to any needs or questions throughout the process."

One of the most attractive aspects of Homeshake is that the platform is built on zero commissions. "We felt that removing as much friction as possible and keeping more money in people’s pockets were both essential to improving the home sale experience," says Bennie, adding that it also helps to strengthen the local economy. "We're two local guys raising our families here with a vested concern to help residents keep their hard-earned equity. Customers take the tens of thousands they saved by not having to pay an agent and reinvest these dollars back into the community, which grows our economy."

Another attractive aspect, according to Rabin, is that there are no listing contracts and no fees until the deal closes, allowing customers to take fewer risks. Homeshake also has a unique inventory. "At any given time, only 1 percent of total home inventory is listed on the Multiple Listing Service (MLS)," says Rabin. "Homeshake focuses on the other 99 percent. This ‘unlisted’ inventory includes coming-soon homes, private sales, for sale by owner (FSBO), pocket listings, and more."

Those who are interested in buying or selling with Homeshake can sign up for a free account at www.homeshake.com. "We offer complimentary professional photos to all Homeshake sellers and have a team of licensed real estate professionals ready to help at any time," says Bennie. "People can feel good about listing their home with Homeshake, a locally owned and locally grown company that utilizes local talent to help residents and our economy."

To learn more, visit www.homeshake.com. You can also follow along on Facebook or Instagram.