Key Takeaways
Are you ready to take your investing business to the next level? If yes, it is vital to stay up to date on the latest real estate tech trends in order to achieve success.
In a world where people stare at screens more than faces, the best businesses understand the importance of using technology to their advantage. Real estate businesses are no exception. Whether we like or not, technology is changing the way the real estate industry runs. More and more people are able to search for information on line, and therefore require the help of real estate professionals less and less.
So how can you guarantee a spot in today’s increasingly competitive landscape? The answer is simple, learn all the different ways to optimize your business with today’s best technology. Keep reading to learn more about emerging real estate technology tools and how you can apply them today.
Real Estate Technology Trends Of 2019
If you can commit at least 10 minutes per day to keeping up with new real estate trends, your business’ bottom line will thank you. Why? Because when utilized correctly, real estate technology has the ability to save you time – by automating regular business operations – and money – by increasing data availability.
Using the most up to date online application can not only build your credibility among lenders and potential buyers, but can also increase customer satisfaction and decrease average transaction times.
So without further adieu, review these hot real estate tech trends to give your business the edge it deserves:
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Virtual Reality
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Business Automation
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Collaboration Tools
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Big Data
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Online Investment Marketplaces
Virtual Reality
Virtual reality is not exclusive to the gaming or entertainment industries. In fact, it has already started to take hold of real estate in recent years through the emergence of 3D property tours. Home buyers can now complete walkthroughs or get street views with out ever stepping foot in the property. Investors able to incorporate this technology have no doubt benefited from the ability to show properties with new levels of ease. Not only can they reach more clients online, but they can also take less time away from their busy schedules to show properties.
In some cases investors will even utilize virtual property tours in their completed portfolios. This real estate technology allows unprecedented access to successful deals completed by the investor. 3D walk throughs can accompany an investor’s usual pitch for financing, and deliver the wow factor in competitive meetings. The best place to get started is by researching different virtual reality companies, who provide the cameras and software needed to get started. A few options available are Matterport, Floorfy and Atlas Bay VR.
Business Automation
Depending on the size of your real estate investing business, you likely spend anywhere from one to eight hours each week on operational tasks. There will come a point in time, if you have not already hit it, where these tasks begin taking time away from more important projects for your business. When you begin noticing this, take it as a sign that you need to start looking for real estate technology to automate your business. There are countless affordable options that can assist with your social media campaigns, track business costs, and even communicate with potential leads.
The right real estate technology can help you reduce time spent on day-to-day tasks and free up time to work on the bigger picture: finding and securing new investment deals. No matter how big (or small) your business is, I have found that the best place to start is by auditing your existing business operations. Categorize your business operations and gauge how much time you spend on each task. The following overview can help as you start finding tools to automate your business:
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Social Media: Platforms like Sprout Social, Hootsuite, and Later are all designed to help you monitor and automate various social media platforms. These options can help you schedule social media posts in advance, track content performance over time, and even manage customer inquiries that come through direct message.
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Communication: If you struggle to stay in touch with your tenants, there are a number of property management softwares that might help. These can help you easily sort between maintenance requests, day to day communications and lease renewals. Read this guide to learn about the best property management software for you.
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Day To Day Operations: There is nothing worse than watching a deal slip through the tasks because of a busy work day. Many real estate investors will be happy to know there are a number of softwares, like Asana or Todoist, that can help you prioritize projects and track their progress online.
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Finances: Managing your business finances may be easy on your first or second deal, but chances are it will get more difficult over time. After all, there are loan payments, operational costs, and team members to keep track of. Thankfully, business automation software can help exponentially when it comes to bookkeeping. There are countless options to help you get started, such as Quickbooks or Wave.
Collaboration Tools
Perhaps the most popular real estate technologies hitting the market are those geared towards collaboration and communication. These tools are essentially any technologies that allow investors to communicate and work together, no matter where they are located. Collaboration tools include platforms that allow investors to do digital walkthroughs, conference calls, video chats, etc. For example, outlets like UberConference and Google Hangouts can make it easy for investors to present new deals or provide status updates when they can’t meet in person.
Not only can collaboration tools boost communications, but they can also help to reduce overall transaction times. Applications like Docusign and PandaDoc allow investors to review and sign real estate contracts directly from a smart phone or computer. After contracts have been negotiated, these platforms can enable investors to make quick changes or references on the go. Additionally, these tools allow investors to digitally store older documents for future use. These tools will only continue to grow in popularity as buyers and sellers begin to utilize them as well.
Big Data
Big data has earned a bad reputation in recent months amidst security breaches and technology concerns. Consumers are becoming increasingly aware of just how much information is out there, and rightfully so. However, big data does not just refer to endless data bases owned by corporate conglomerates. In the real estate industry, big data encompasses information gathered on housing markets and real estate trends. Platforms like Zillow and Trulia, which pull listing information straight from the MLS, have begun aggregating average home prices, rental costs, and more to help buyers and sellers alike. There is no reason investors can’t learn to put this information to use as well.
There are a few different ways to incorporate data analysis into your real estate business. Perhaps the most popular is to use it to assess what buyers want and need in your target market. What features are most sought after? What is the average property size and room breakdown? This information can help guide rehab projects, marketing efforts, and even your search for future deals.
Online Investment Marketplaces
The year’s best real estate technology also includes online investment marketplaces. These digital platforms allow investors to connect with potential lenders to raise funding for their deals. The most common examples of online marketplaces are crowdsourcing platforms, like ArborCrowd or Groundfloor. Crowdfunding in real estate is a popular nontraditional financing method, and with the release of new technology it’s becoming easier to manage. Depending on the platform there will be fees and requirements to meet, but for the most part investors have found these options to offer a variety of options when it comes to financing a deal. Read this guide to learn more about real estate crowdfunding.
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Summary
As technology continues to disrupt the real estate industry, investors have one choice: learn how to implement new tools for the better or step aside for competitors who do so. Buyers, sellers, and even lenders are consistently looking for real estate tech trends to make their lives easier. From smart appliances to digital real estate contracts, investors have likely already seen some changes in day-to-day business as a result. However, the above options are some of the most cutting-edge trends out there. Look at each one as a way to innovate and optimize your real estate investing business for the better. The potential impact can help you reach new levels with your clients, markets, and even earnings.
Which of these real estate technology trends do you want to try first? Give us some feedback in the comments below.
