Alex Doubet is the Founder/CEO of Door, Inc. (Door.com), a residential real estate startup company based in Texas
With COVID-19 cases spiking again, it is more important now than ever to take safety precautions in the peak of home buying and selling season, traditionally summer. Mask mandates, social distancing efforts and health scares are changing the way buyers and sellers approach the residential real estate market. The industry was obviously disrupted by the sudden pandemic, but its next moves are critical. It is important to bring value and transparency to customers and, in doing so, utilize available technology. The traditional real estate industry must adapt to the changing norms, laws and regulations, and the technology boom that has shaken things up for the past few years.
Here’s how the evolving world of home buying and selling has changed over the past five years and continues to develop in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Online Searching
95% of buyers are looking for their home online, and over half find it before engaging an agent. Even though this big chunk of the traditional real estate agent’s job has been cut out, the commission is still the same and the buyer will have to pay it indirectly through a higher listing price. Evolving past commissions and working towards a focus on the customer experience is the only way to provide value and stay relevant.
Accurate Valuations
Algorithms and accuracy are imperative to a successful real estate transaction. Traditional agents will often come to a potential seller/client with high dollar signs, telling them they should list their home for a high price. This is a tactic used to earn the seller’s business. Where is the data? What kind of algorithm did the agent use? In today’s marketplace, brokerages should utilize advanced valuation algorithms to bring an accurate home price to the seller instead of wooing them with an unattainable number.
Targeted Marketing
Due to the high dependency on the internet and many stay-at-home orders still in place, mass marketing in physical publications aren’t as effective as they once were. Consumers have more options to find what they need faster. Fifty percent of people that will ever see a home that is advertised online will see it in its first seven days on the market. We all know the importance of target marketing, and here’s where social media comes in. Targeting the right people on social media will get a home sold faster than a newspaper or magazine can even be published. Effective agents will have built online audiences for each type of home to ensure a faster sale.
Simplifying, Increasing Visibility
Transparency is one of the most important traits in real estate. Streamlining the process is just as important. Luckily, there’s an easy way to solve both: custom portals. Clients love logging in and having their entire real estate experience in one convenient tool. Services can be scheduled, data can be viewed, and the closing process can be managed. Easy, right? With this capability, no one going through a transaction should be burdened with uncertainty. And during a pandemic, this is crucial.
The modern tools now available to real estate brokerages should enhance, rather than diminish, service. Acting as a specialized guide and using technology to provide incredible value should be the new real estate norm.
