Why the real estate industry needs to invest in technology

Each year, we all become more reliant on technology than we ever have before, and that certainly includes the real estate industry.

Industries that have traditionally always been ‘people’ focused, centering around building relationships, can sometimes be overlooked when it comes to adopting technology but that would be a huge mistake. Technology has the ability to make us better at our jobs and more efficient.

Technology can help streamline existing processes and reduce the inefficiencies within the real estate industry, here are some of the areas that agents or agencies can adopt to improve how they perform within an increasingly competitive industry.

Removing Repetitive Tasks

While a lot of what an agent does on a daily basis involves building relationships and working with people, there are still a lot of small repetitive tasks that can be eliminated.

Things like tracking potential clients with a CRM, or getting rid of paperwork with smart apps are just some of the examples of how technology is already improving the lives of many agents. Having access to the data you need, when you need it, will help real estate agents make smarter, more strategic decisions within their business everyday.

Any task that is repetitive and does not require a person to physically do can potentially be removed with automation and technology. That frees agents up to focus on the big picture items that have the most impact and generate the most revenue. There’s also the potential to continue to streamline the entire sales process, which could see things like settlement times significantly reduced.

New Marketing Avenues

While traditionally buyers have always needed to view properties in person through home opens, over the last few years, this has changed.

With the advent of technology like virtual reality and 3d tours, it’s possible to get a real feel for a property without ever needing to visit. This is especially important for investors who would be willing to purchase a property without ever setting foot in it. As the quality of this technology continues to improve, there will likely be more avenues to get people to view a property.

Better Valuations

While an agent on the ground is still very good at estimating what a property might be worth, the advent of technology such as AI is really helping to generate very accurate prices for properties.

As the ability to access data only increases over time, so will the accuracy of how a property might sell. Agents need to understand how to market a property based on the level of interest it is likely to attract and using tools that can assist them will help going forward.  You can also choose to integrate your CRM with data providers such as RPData or PriceFinder, to get accurate valuation estimates without leaving a single platform.

More Effective Marketing

We all know just how good the likes of Facebook and Google are at finding potential customers for advertisers. Their whole business is built around using data and matching would-be buyers and sellers to all sorts of products and services.  This approach is incredibly targeted and has changed the way marketing is done within a generation.

As machine learning and AI continue to evolve, these platforms and others will continue to be able to provide incredibly targeted ads to customers. There will also be the ability to better build your brand through using the various social media platforms and their targeting algorithms.

Greater Efficiencies

With cost-effective technology increasingly available, it’s critical that you keep on top of the latest trends and most effective platforms to market your properties or you’ll be a step behind the competition.