How Technology Is Impacting Agents in Today’s Property Market
This guest post was provided by Dezrez.
The current property market has been heavily disrupted by conditions and legislation changes as a direct result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Sales and lettings agents have faced new and immediate challenges that have changed traditional aspects of the sale progression and tenancy process.
In this blog we discuss the impact that this digital revolution is having on estate agents and the UK property industry as a whole. With the birth of online only real estate agents and more brick-and-mortar agencies turning to hybrid solutions, we’ll try to demystify what future-proofing should look like for your business and how to be change ready in an ever evolving market.
What are property market conditions like today?
The impact of Stamp Duty holiday saw a surge in people looking to buy properties, capitalising on return on investment. As the demand grew the industry saw an all-time stock shortage within a few short months. Changes to client money protection and the eviction ban also put stress on landlords and lettings agents to comply with new immediate legislation.
It is fair to say that the property industry in particular has experienced many firsts in its sector during 2021. Agents have had to quickly adapt to new legislation, compliance and safeguarding of their buyers, landlords and tenants, whilst dealing with a surge of clients looking to leave once traditionally sought-after areas to more rural locations. This brought about a supply and demand that was previously unrivalled.
Enhance the sale progression process with automation
Faced with unprecedented challenges, each business sector quickly learnt that the ability to adapt was essential for survival. Agents accepting new technology introductions to aid business workflows meant leveraging technology to enhance, rather than remove human interaction whilst elevating business processes. These workflows have become key functionality, demonstrating intuitive automation that has allowed agents more time to sell properties and work more efficiently out of office.
A birth of online apps and portals has also flooded the property market with more and more agencies looking to promote their services and offer an online customer service that operates 24/7. Buyers are no longer shopping during traditional hours, meaning that even agencies rooted in brick-and-mortar services are leaning on technology to aid them with a hybrid offering.
Rezi Anytime is a great example of how agencies (whether online only or hybrid) can offer a white label client portal solution. This responsive online software allows clients to securely log in and upload documents, sign contracts and view key milestones and sale progression. Agents are also updated in real-time whenever an action is made allowing for quicker response rates and improved customer service.
Real-estate agents are increasing lead volume with the latest PropTech solutions
As PropTech is becoming more intuitive and sophisticated, estate agents can gain greater revenue opportunities. Today’s property market is seeing a significantly low level of stock as a direct result of the stamp duty holiday; however, buyer demand is at an all-time high. Through these unprecedented times it is vital that agents can win more leads, secure listings and move buyers through the sale progression as quickly as possible.
Relying on traditional methods alone is not a smart move. In order to capitalise on buyer interest, it is good to think of tools and strategies that can elevate your offering and how this will secure you a deal over your competitor. Focusing on optimising resident or buyer wellbeing through property data, agents can now work smarter, saving time, money and resource through unique market insight.
Through the use of an open API, Rezi estate agency software is able to integrate with leading suppliers of property technology. These PropTech suppliers are providing agents with top services and tools that generate exceptional brand awareness, speed up the pitch process and win agencies more instructions, first time.
PropTech has become more intuitive and easily adaptable to change
During the last year, there has been a radical shift in the office sector as companies and employees were forced to continue to operate virtually through national lockdowns. With many offices and high street stores remaining closed, the attraction of inner city dwelling dwindled. The UK has seen a significant shift in people moving to more rural locations, listing outdoor space as a priority over urban living.
As the change seems set to stay agents need to be able to utilise tools and services that better connect them to the office and their clients. During the first lockdown, virtual calling platforms sprung onto the market and it seemed that every sector and household had a Zoom, Google Meet or similar communication account set up to converse and complete daily activities.
Following a call from agents for easier accessibility and affordability within the virtual market, we developed a platform within Rezi, offering built in video conferencing, easily accessible from within the main dashboard. Rezi Meet pulls data from Rezi, enabling instant notifications to clients through SMS to accept a meeting time or answer a direct meeting request, either by voice or video.
Future-proof your agency with the best CRM software
As agents start to plan their last quarter and look towards 2022, it is key that the shape of the current property industry is strongly considered. This year, agents were faced with a shake up to legislation, compliance, buyer and stock changes that were surprising and very much unforeseen.
A trend in ‘generation rent’ will also see more agencies leaning on lettings and property management software solutions, such as ReziPM (Property Management Software) to cope with an influx in tenants looking for bespoke properties and a growing landlord database. Many existing landlords will also be looking to alleviate the pressure of growing demand, whilst new landlords take full advantage of market insight to capitalise on buy-to-rent properties. Until the supply and demand for the buyers-market levels out there will also be an increase in short term lets.
Keeping sales, lettings and property management software all under one roof can significantly reduce administration time, resource and costs for an agency. Utilising the best estate agency software is vital for agents looking to work more efficiently, enhance customer service performance and ultimately win more sales.
This guest post was provided by Dezrez. The opinions expressed by the guest writer above and those providing comments are theirs alone, and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Joseph Mews or any employee thereof. Joseph Mews is not responsible for the accuracy of any of the information supplied by the guest writer.