Mitsubishi Jisho Real Estate Service announced on February 14th that it will launch "TAQSIE," a direct matching service between people considering buying or selling residential real estate and brokers, in mid-April of 2022. 

This is the company's first platform management business.

TAQSIE will be a platform where consumers who are considering purchasing real estate can find and inquire to an agent based on their property needs as well as other publicly available information such as agent specialty, years of experience, and transaction track record. 

Mitsubishi Jisho will concentrate on the operation of the platform and the company’s own agents will not participate initially.  Once launched, the company will invite real estate agents from other companies that have done business with Mitsubishi Jisho in the past to participate.

In real estate transactions, which are highly individualized, the ability of the broker tends to determine the success or failure of the transaction.  However, TAQSIE will allow users to choose not only the company, but also the individual agent with the corresponding track record and experience. 

After a highly praised test phase with select clients, Mitsubishi Jisho decided to commercialize the service.  Japan has long been a hold out where the companies still believe clients trust the brand instead of the specific agent like other developed markets like the Us and Canada.  

Mitsubishi Jisho, with this commitment to TAQSIE, is preparing themselves for what is inevitably coming; consumers that know it isn’t the brand that matters but the specific agent they are working with that determines whether a satisfactory sale happens or not.  

For TAQSIE to succeed, there needs to be enough individual agents in a locale to provide enough variety for buyers looking for vastly different properties to buy.  The company plans to initially launch the service in the 23 wards of Tokyo and gradually expand into areas with enough transaction volume to make it worthwhile to both buyers and the Mitsubishi Jisho.  

In addition, the company will use TAQSIE as a starting point to promote its platform business with a view to collaborating with online transactions and other peripheral services.

Further Reading

Mitsubishi Jisho to launch TAQSIE Press Release (Japanese only; February 2022)