New Technologies That Help Sell/Buy Real Estate

We all know that trends in the real estate market come and go. However, with the real estate market has been on a hiatus in recent years, the property-selling industry is now back bigger and better than ever! Moreover, innovation in the industry didn’t cease while selling halted – new technologies have produced loads of tools to help you sell properties. What are these new real estate technology tools? Let’s take a look at the future and present of technology in real estate:

Chatbots

When selling real estate, you only want to offer your customers the best service. That’s why a contact channel that can be open 24/7, with a near-instantaneous response time and accurate information, is a dream. So dream no more! Today, it is possible to have an automated service desk using an AI chatbot. This conversation chatbot can answer your customers’ questions any time of the day or night and automatically add appointment booking details to your books. Chatbots can even speak any language required.

Going online

The way new clients discover the properties they buy is changing these days. More and more people simply use the internet in their searches without even meeting with real estate agents. You can upload photographs of all the rooms, showcase any unique details in the properties and type up all the details and dimensions. The benefits of showing your properties online are endless, so why wouldn’t you?

Virtual 3D tours

One piece of technology that pairs closely with online websites is virtual online 3D tours. After all, photographs can only show so much. A virtual tour can show customers what it feels like to be in that building. This tour is beneficial if the building is remote or a buyer wants to view many different properties. And, of course, virtual tours were handy during the pandemic.

Most buyers will still probably want to see the property in person before money changes hands, and this is fine. But imagine how much money and time virtual 3D tours save for the customer and you!

Data warehouses

What does data have to do with selling houses? Well, databases store large quantities of information regarding consumer preferences. These databases, in combination with real estate machine-learning models, can produce predictions for property metrics like changes to rent. These real estate machine learning models can help people to understand which property is a better choice for their investment, speeding sales.

Personalised alerts

Another benefit of increased data access is that predictive analytics and datasets allow you to understand your customers better and even sort them into groups. You can sort people with similar traits and create targeted emails and content for specific audiences. You can describe the benefits of a particular house or property and produce the documents you need to secure that deal. You can send this email or alert at the time the customer chooses. Personalised alerts are acceptable because they contain only information the customer is interested in, and the customer is also more likely to open something they signed up for rather than ignore the alert.

Apps

Nowadays, there’s an app for everything. Letting agents and real estate sellers are no different. But why use an app over your website? Well, an app offers more settings for a person to tailor to their needs. An app also provides more features, like getting directly in touch with an estate agent when a person sees a property they are interested in. Users can also ‘favourite’ properties to look at later and organise their lists.  And, of course, an app is more likely to get used often when it is on your home screen. On top of this, it’s easier to interact with a notification that takes you right to the app. Apps offer a faster, more customisable experience, too.

Drones

Wait a minute; drones can’t exactly give you a tour of a home! No, they may not be able to enter buildings – but drones still help sell properties. How? Drones can capture stunning aerial footage of a property and its surrounding area. Using drone footage at the beginning or end of your property videos can give your customers a real sense of what it will be like to live in a home or use a building. They can be shown the bustling nearby neighbourhoods, the stunning views from the upstairs window, and the lush garden, all in high-definition 4K. Drones make it simple to capture this footage as you need it. These little flying cameras are an excellent investment for any letting agent.

Augmented reality

Okay, so if virtual reality helps someone get a tour of a house without even needing to go there physically, what does augmented reality do? Augmented reality has a variety of uses. When you are in the property, augmented reality can point out details or features of the property, such as the price, the measurements, the location of things like light switches, or how to use certain appliances. Plus, if the property is currently unfurnished, augmented reality can show a prospective buyer what furniture would look like in specific areas. Then, you can move everything in, in minutes! You can even use AR to change the colours of the walls or knock a wall down.

Automated management

Think about how many repetitive tasks you do as an estate agent. There are endless phone calls and paperwork, almost the same every time. How much does it slow you down to stop and write while on a call? What if the computer could just do it for you?

Thankfully, modern technology means these simple tasks are now getting automated. For example, some software can listen to your calls and automatically transcribe customer details onto your forms, while online forms for customers mean you don’t have to write a thing! Of course, you still have to oversee this process and check that the details are correct. But for the most part, automated management is a convenient option.