We’ve said it before, and we’ll say it again—this year has been one of momentous ups and downs that affected businesses as much as personal lives. Where most industries had to cut back, and some had to shut down altogether, real estate showed resolve. It displayed the very essence of evolution, finding new ways to adapt to remote business in what’s always been known as a people business.
Today, rather than dwell on what wasn’t so great this year, let’s take a few moments to appreciate the things that were great—all the ways real estate agents adapted and grew through such a difficult time.
They found new ways to keep the business going
For many, the hurdle of remote work was difficult to surmount. In real estate, historically a face-to-face business, you’d assume that would be the case—but agents the nation over were quick to prove that assumption wrong.
Tens of thousands of agents in the U.S. alone quickly pivoted to digital processes, replacing the paper ones that had required them to meet with clients to sign offers. Suddenly, they could process deals just as quickly as (if not more so than) they did when they had to pop into the office to drop off forms.
In many cases, they were able to start closing more deals than ever—even showing major improvements year over year.
They revolutionized the experience they provided clients
Perhaps the biggest challenge the industry faced this year was fear and uncertainty from consumers. They were afraid to enter the market, unsure of what awaited them.
Real estate agents drew those consumers back into the market by adapting quickly to technology that helped them address consumers’ concerns.
Marketing management tools helped agents communicate clearly with their clients exactly what to expect, how they were adapting their business, and why it wasn’t something they needed to fear.
Virtual tour and 3D image tools gave agents a way to help clients tour a property from the safety of their own home—which was both a relief for sellers who wanted to minimize outside exposure in their homes, and for buyers who didn’t want to risk exposure while touring.
eSignature tools, which were made legal in nearly every state and province in North America because of the pandemic, helped agents and their clients sign offers and contracts quickly without needing to meet in person.
It didn’t stop there. Agents didn’t hold back in their creativity finding ways to help clients buy and sell their homes—even if it meant changing everything about the experience those clients got.
And they did it all without sacrificing their bottom lines.
With the pandemic causing so much uncertainty around what real estate agents could expect to take home, they needed to find ways to adapt without committing to extra fees that they might not be able to handle if the market took a turn.
Through resources like Marketplace, built for the transactions solution so many agents trusted through the pandemic, they could find the tools they needed to navigate the new real estate reality. And because so many of those tools are free, agents didn’t need to worry that they were taking on extra expenses.
Agents got to use new technology that didn’t cause extra work, because it connected with their existing tech. Clients got additional ways to make a move better without risking their health and safety.
And it all set the stage for what’s to come in real estate.
For more information about Marketplace, and to check out all the tools available, you can visit the site here.
Erin Green is the Communications Specialist at Lone Wolf Technologies. As a professional writer and editor with experience in a wide range of fields, including journalism, architecture, engineering and construction, and software marketing, Erin is dedicated to exploring the trends and issues that affect real estate today—and how real estate agents and brokerages can adapt and grow through changing conditions.
