Nowadays, technological advancements are a part of our daily life. Every other week, we seem to have a new platform, database, or ecosystem integrated into our phones, tablets, and homes. Like most other industries, the real estate industry has felt the positive impact of new technologies being introduced in the ‘90s, with cell phones improving connectivity between agents and clients.
As the years went on, technology advanced further and the years of the pandemic pushed these technological advancements to the forefront due to their unquestionable need. With social gatherings and interactions with strangers being limited due to social distancing guidelines or lockdown orders, the business sector needed alternatives to continue to function. But we aren’t here to talk about Zoom calls or browsing for listings on your phone. That’s old news. What’s currently happening with real estate technologies is bound to transform the whole industry.
Still, just as it happened in the ‘90s, real estate agents and clients alike will need to get on board. Tech savvy realtors will be one step ahead of those turning away from these technological advancements and going against the current will not benefit anyone. The reason technological innovation occurs is the societal need for them. It’s what pushed advancements since the invention of the wheel.
So why should we implement these real estate technologies into our work? We’ll give you a few reasons that will convince you that these changes will bring you nothing but benefits. And, think about it! If you know how to handle your real estate technologies for the benefit of your career, you’ll be more able to adapt this know-how in your personal life as well. Social media is a part of our life and allows us to stay in touch with people even if they are hundreds of miles away. That’s one benefit that your extended family and friends will enjoy as well, but let’s get into the professional benefits of using these brand-new technologies.
Benefits of Using Real Estate Technologies
Technological advancements play an impactful role in how both real estate agents and their clients approach the market. In 2020 the National Association of Realtors (NAR) reported that around 97% of homebuyers go online to start their home search. The previous two years only pushed technology to play an even greater role in this process. A multitude of apps, platforms, and innovative real estate technologies are already changing the way the real estate industry works.
While change can be scary, as automation can lead to people losing their jobs, this is unlikely to happen in the real estate industry. Agents will have more time to work on their clients and less on the grunt work that takes time and effort as those will be done by algorithms and software. So let’s see what benefits agents can look forward to after the implementation of these innovative real estate technologies.
More Time
In the real estate industry, time and time management is considered a must-have skill. This applies to how an agent manages to organize their time and life-work balance and how to maintain relationships with clients and when to stop investing too much time on a prospective client that doesn’t show promise. Real estate agents need to know where to focus their time and energy, but also what actually needs to occupy their time and what doesn’t.
Latest real estate technologies are taking this one step further and apps like Zoom is just the tip of the iceberg, but it allows agents to have online conversations with clients that are more personal than phone calls or e-mails. Furthermore, apps like DotLoop by Zillow make it possible for contracts to be signed electronically through digital signature. Another real estate technology that improves time management is qr code for real estate that clients can scan to get a virtual tour of the property along with details related to the property. Virtual tours alone make the presence of the agent unnecessary on the property and it allows clients to see the property in their own time without having to work it in their agent’s or their own hectic schedule.
Increased Leads
Real estate agents are constantly on the lookout for new leads that can turn into clients but until you capture their interest, it can be a long way. One of the most effective ways to get more leads is to stand out from the crowd and through new real estate technologies, it becomes easier to get ahead of your competition. Making a connection and building trust is essential for a successful career as a realtor. That’s been the truth since the beginning of this industry. Still, advancements in real estate technology are making this easier than ever.
Through apps like BombBomb, you can create your own video email by adding an interactive face to your brand and improving your responses and sales. Another great option is Emma or MyEmma. While presented as a budget planner tracker, this app allows you to design and optimize your targeted email campaigns by taking into account your clients’ behavior patterns and ensuring that your email reaches them at their most convenient time. No more will your emails disturb your clients when they are busy and be left unread for days.
Better Organized
While this may seem like a basic skill, the truth of the matter is that the real estate industry comes with a heap of bureaucracy that can end up drowning the least equipped real estate agents into a mountain of paperwork. Maintaining a well-organized office may not be the most intriguing benefit on our list but it is one of the most important as messy lifestyles tend to lead to wasted time as it takes more to find what is needed.
As the leading digital document management platform, DocuSign will take care of all the paperwork for you. Through this app, agents can store, organize and keep better track of their digital documents. No more digging through mountains of boxes to find that one piece of paper signed by a client that’s selling their third property with you. Living in 2022 means that all of that can be stored online, wherever you or your clients are. Make all your paperwork digital and maintain it organized in the online world.
Boost Productivity
Whether it’s by scheduling email campaigns or by optimizing the information related to your properties, real estate technologies are available only to improve the work for any real estate agent that uses them. When it comes to boosting productivity, the simplest example we can think of is the multitude of algorithms that work to manage information related to properties, maintaining them up to date and rectifying any changes that occur. Such algorithms are implemented through software that contains artificial intelligence and the NAR came up with the most expansive database available for member realtors.
Realtors Property Resource provides agents with constantly updated information regarding over 147 million parcels that include information related to those parcels from 12 other databases. Through this platform, realtors will not only see details about a property but about the community that property belongs to, quality of life, job growth, education quality, real estate trends and so much more. All of this information would otherwise be covered by teams of real estate agents and include months of research, but this platform does it through algorithms almost instantly.
Conclusion
Keeping up with the changes implemented by real estate technologies became a part of the real estate agent’s life. There’s no point fighting this transition as there are no drawbacks that come with it unless you like spending hours of your time digging through details related to properties and wasting precious time that would be better spent focusing on your prospects. The world is evolving everywhere around us and why should the real estate industry be any different?
By implementing all these real estate technologies, you will be better equipped for the future changes that will take place in the real estate industry. Soon, we’ll be talking about blockchain and NFT technologies that will change everything we know about the housing market and financial transactions. So, keeping your eyes and ears open to innovative real estate technologies is better. You won’t regret it in the future.
