Not long ago, a for sale sign on a front lawn was a beacon for business. If a homebuyer happened upon one of these signs and was interested in knowing the price or other specifics of a house, they had to call the phone number listed on the for sale sign. Nowadays, a simple Google search can lead buyers, neighbors, and even “looky-loos” to a plethora of information in a matter of seconds. Current technology empowers consumers by arming them with knowledge that helps them make better, more informed decisions. On the other hand, real estate agents of the past depended on the phone calls coming in from those yard signs and other print ads. While agents might not get quite as many of those types of inquiries now, the leads that do reach them are usually good leads who are ready to buy or sell. This is just one of the many ways technology has changed the real estate industry. Let’s look at a few more.
Transparency
The majority of homebuyers and sellers turn to the internet as their first source of information. Before they pick up the phone, shoot off an email, or even ask their friends for recommendations, buyers and sellers are consulting the web and informing themselves. The question is, does this leave real estate agents out in the cold? Not really. No matter how easy it is to search the internet for a home or find info on how to sell a home, Realtors® won’t be cut out of the deal anytime soon. Real estate is not an e-commerce business. There will always be a need for educated professionals who know the market, have local expertise, and are connected to other professionals related to the buying and selling of real estate. Good agents persevere by using technology to their advantage rather than feeling replaced by it. This is a boon for both agents and their clients.
Marketing
Print ads, television and radio commercials, and real estate buying guides used to rule the roost when it came to marketing real estate. Now, with 44% of buyers using an online website to start their home search, the internet is the number one place to market a home. The best agents leverage technology to market their homes for sale via social media, property websites, virtual tours, and other online resources as they know consumers turn to the web first. Additionally, online marketing is faster, easier, and often free of charge.
Communication
Thanks to tools like smartphones, tablets, virtual signatures, and cloud storage, it’s never been easier to keep in touch at all hours. In fact, according to reports from the National Association of Realtors® (NAR), mobile use will continue to increase in importance as a way to reach consumers. More than 50% of Generation Y and Generation X buyers used a mobile device during their home search. Among those, 31% of Generation Y and 26% of Gen X found the home they ultimately purchased via a mobile device. Smart devices and other new technologies make it possible to access information anytime, anywhere. This is an extremely important feature in the real estate industry particularly. Agents as well as consumers are always on the go, and people want their information faster than ever. Being able to get in touch with a client who’s away on business in Japan, for example, is far easier than it was twenty years ago. There is one downside to this. Real estate is a very people-centric business. The struggle Realtors face is losing one-on-one time with clients, which makes it harder to build a relationship. For this reason, agents need to keep up with the times now more than ever, staying on top of technology and the latest means of communication to attract and keep clients.
Efficiency
The ability to access documents, communications, and other information on the go at all hours leads to transparency, efficiency, and cleaner transactions. It’s amazing to be able to access contacts, schedules, contracts and other documents, and information on listings all in one place, and from literally anywhere that has internet access. Apps like Dropbox, Evernote, and Google Drive are huge hits among Realtors. E-signature technology helps get documents signed quickly, a feature that could mean the difference between getting an offer in on time and losing out to another buyer. Other tools like virtual tours give buyers the ability to experience a home without stepping foot inside it. It gives more of a complete view of a home, a more thorough view than photos alone can provide. That way, if there’s something they don’t like about the house, they won’t waste their time by having to go see it in person.
All in all, the advances in technology over the past decade alone have done great things for the real estate industry. They have also presented challenges for some companies as they and their licensees have had to grow with the times. But agents can rest easy for the time being. NAR says that in 2016, “buyers worked with an agent 88% of the time to find their home, so trust in a Realtor® is still king.”
