Groupon Testing Real Estate Leads in Chicago

Groupon has been reaching deep into the verticals, first with home and garden, which launched a couple of weeks ago. Now it is testing real estate leads via a Chicago offer with Dream Town Realty.

As first reported by Crain’s Chicago Business, Dream Town Realty will provide $1,000 back to $25 Groupon purchasers or sellers of any real estate purchase over $150,000. The deal is similar to group buying real estate leads offered by Housetipper.com. A current offer provides a free carpet steam cleaning and a 4 percent commission (i.e. a one percent discount) for home sellers that buy a $25 coupon and guarantee a six-month placement for a home valued over $200,000.

These kinds of offers are likely to appeal to first time home buyers who may not have specific Realtors or brokerages in mind or be aware of other, similar offers. Cash back offers for real estate leads have been prevalent for some time, with discount realty organizations such as RedFin and banks and membership groups such as USAA making similar offers for both buyers and sellers.

From a consumer point of view, the $25 purchase of a Groupon may not be ideal. It locks them in for a cheap price and without assurances that they will find a property or agent that they like.

It makes more sense that Dream Town would provide a $25 rebate to consumers who visit their offices, just like auto dealers provide to consumers that come in for a test drive. But the use of Groupon’s extensive email and credibility is a creative outreach and we’ll certainly see variations on this offer in the coming future.