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The digitization of real estate: how can you keep up?

Written by Cynthia Madison Posted On Wednesday, 01 July 2020 13:45
The digitization of real estate: how can you keep up? Pexels.com

In the past few years, disruptive technologies like AI and Big Data have impacted conservative industries like healthcare and finance, forcing providers in these fields to adapt, embrace new working models, or risk being left behind. From the outside, real estate doesn’t seem to have changed much, but in reality, it’s one of those traditional fields that’s being shaken up by technology. The house-hunting process isn’t the same as it once was, and even if home viewings are still the most important element in it, what happens before them has changed dramatically.

As a real estate agent, your knowledge of the local market and your ability to communicate with clients are essential strengths. But, by paying more attention to technology and digitizing some processes can further improve these strengths, while at the same time saving resources and boosting efficiency.

Here are three ways to keep up:

Be present on social media.

There was a time when people would look for homes by driving around neighborhoods or going through ads in the newspaper. Today, print media is almost dead, and in most cases, the house buying process starts online. More specifically, on social media, where people look for hashtags and location tags to find properties for sale. Statistically, 69% of real estate agents are on social media, and this high adoption rate proves that the benefits are worth it. Now, social media will never be able to replace real-world networking (and it shouldn’t!). However, it does offer you an effective platform where you can run your operations and advertise properties.

For example, did you know that you can target the audience for property ads so that they appear on the newsfeeds of people in a specific neighborhood? Or that you can use filters so that some properties are displayed only to a certain age group or occupation? This way, you can make the most out of your advertising budget and make sure that your properties are only viewed by people who have a realistic chance of purchasing them. Besides, ads reach people even when they’re not actively looking for properties, which means higher exposure.

Then there’s of course the fact that social media gives you a platform where you can stay in touch with your clients. You also get reviews, and this helps you gain more clients and consolidate your reputation. In general, Facebook is widely considered the best social network for real estate agents, but Instagram has big opportunities too, thanks to its focus on visuals. Don’t forget YouTube for uploading videos of your properties!

Virtual home tours

Virtual home tours were a nice-to-have feature before but, on the post-pandemic market, we can expect them to play a bigger role. As buyers had to respect strict social distancing rules and avoid unnecessary meetings, attending open house events the same as before was not an option. With virtual tours, however, they can explore the property as thoroughly as possible, and thus view homes that they would not have gone down to visit by reading the ad alone.

Traditionally, when real estate agents meet with their clients, they only bring along a list of properties and a few photos. But, by bringing your laptop too and looking at virtual tours together, you can address their needs in a more bespoke manner and get a better idea of what they like and dislike. A laptop is, of course, a considerable investment. If you don’t have one and aren’t ready to make a purchase yet, rent to own laptops can be a great alternative. Many agents have used this cost-effective solution during the pandemic, but, considering the success of virtual home tours, we can expect the trend to continue in the following months too.

Why tours when you have photos, you might ask? Well, even high quality, professional photos have their limitations. You don’t always see the proportions of the room, or explore the space from all angles. Meanwhile, virtual home tours are more immersive, allow potential buyers to interact with elements in the house, and they’re much more realistic.

There are two ways you can go around creating a virtual tour:

  • Raw footage of the house, shot with a professional high-resolution camera. This is the most affordable and also the most realistic option. If you don’t have a professional camera, your smartphone can do a decent job too.
  • A 3D tour. This is more expensive to make, but it can pay off in the case of upscale properties, which buyers may want to view from different angles.

CRM tools

Do you still schedule all your appointments and organize tasks using pen and paper? If the answer is yes, then you may be busier than you need to be. Let’s face it, being a realtor is a complex job. Not only do you have a busy schedule, but you also have to juggle different tasks and keep track of a huge amount of information.

For this reason, CRM tools are starting to gain traction in the world of real estate. Contrary to popular belief, they’re not just for large companies. These tools are scalable, so even if you only have a small real estate agency, you can find a plan that matches your needs.

Here are the challenges of working with traditional planning tools as a real estate agent:

  • Mixing up client information because data is scattered in several online and offline sources
  • Forgetting to schedule a meeting or home visit
  • Clients forget to follow up after a meeting or leave a testimonial on your website

With CRM, however, you can keep all the data into one place and automate your tasks to save time and money. They can help you stay in touch with past clients, organize client data, send reminders for referrals and other forms of relationship management, and have a clearer overview of your profits.  

 

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