Photo: Getty Images
BURLINGTON (WBZ NewsRadio) — Rising mortgage rates have some prospective homebuyers feeling like it's an impossible dream. One company in Burlington developed an online real estate platform to help bring buyers and sellers together to explore off-market deals.
Bluebid Homes allows homeowners to claim their property on the app, making themselves available to receive direct confidential offers from buyers. Homeowners are then able to discover what people are willing to pay for their home, giving them the chance to see their property's true worth, according to Bluebid Homes.
"We see our platform replacing those letters in your mailbox, those unsolicited knocks on your door, essentially what we are is a digital inbox for real offers from motivated buyers," Chris Mackey, Bluebid Homes CEO said.
While the app gives homeowners information about their property's worth, it also allows buyers to pursue their dream homes and submit offers to the owners. Mackey told WBZ's Suzanne Sausville that despite the housing shortage, 16 million homes in the United States are empty.
Read More: Boston's Bar Where Everybody Knows Your Name Turns 40, "Cheers" Fans Gather
"99 percent of homes aren't for sale in the United States, that means there's a 99 percent chance you are never going to find your dream home on the market," he said.
Mackey was inspired at a young age as he would drive around Cape Cod with his grandfather seeing lots of 'for sale' signs out the window.
"When I asked [my grandfather] if all these houses are actually for sale he would say no, they just throw those signs up every summer and they just want to see exactly what numbers people are going to throw at them," Mackey said.
Then in his adult life, when Mackey and his wife were looking to buy a home of their own, he was frustrated with the selection of homes for sale and found himself more interested in the off-market homes across the street. After purchasing, he was always curious about how much buyers would value his house, even though he wasn't ready to sell. These combined issues eventually led him and co-founder Dan Liliedahl to create the Bluebid app; to help other curious homeowners and buyers who are having difficulty navigating the current housing market.
WBZ Suzanne Sausville (wbzSausville) has more:
Follow WBZ NewsRadio: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | iHeartmedia App