The real estate market has been notably unpredictable in recent years, and evolving conditions are keeping agents on their toes. With rising interest rates affecting home sales, 2023 purchases are expected to drop from 5.8 million to 5.1 million, a large year-to-year drop — and an almost 2 million home decrease from 2021. The rapid changes within the market over the past few years have agents constantly adjusting to new conditions and client expectations, all while trying to maintain sales.
To address these rising challenges, brokerages continue to turn to technology to help agents move inventory, stay on top of a shifting market and provide an edge over competitors. Some 45% of brokerages say that staying up to date with current technology is an ongoing struggle for real estate agents.
Knowing what investments will meet their agents’ most pressing needs in 2023 — and how they can better adopt tech into their workflow — will help brokerages increase sales, retain top-producing talent and boost confidence in the upcoming housing market.
How will AI impact real estate?
Let’s start with one of the buzziest technologies around right now: artificial intelligence. As AI innovations such as ChatGPT continue to advance and their limitations decrease, people across industries are wondering how it will impact our real world interactions.
The good news is that while ChatGPT might become a helpful resource, it won’t replace the personalized touch points with clients. Purchasing property is such a personal matter and can’t be automated or replaced with technology. Buying and selling a home are some of the most personal things a person can do in their lifetime, and the vast majority of people would never trust a faceless program to manage such a large and meaningful transaction.
That said, AI could become a helpful tool that agents can leverage to support their own businesses. Dyslexic professionals, for example, are using OpenAI to automatically correct grammar and spelling mistakes in their emails, reducing the time needed to revise what they’ve written and focus more on other tasks.
Agents should think of AI not as a tech that replaces humans, but as a tool to overcome specific challenges and create more time to focus on providing a personal touch to their interactions.
One possible use for agents that can advance their business may be for the initial stages of content creation. AI could create a basic draft of a social media post that could then be reworked to reflect an agent’s voice and viewpoints, helping agents stay on top of their marketing without writer’s block robbing them of valuable time.
Stale listing? Try virtual reality, open house and listing tech
Fannie Mae predicts that this year will see continued market corrections making home buying easier than it has been in recent years, pushing markets toward a favorable position for buyers. This means getting as many eyes on a house as possible will increase listing agents’ chances of closing a deal before a listing becomes stale and even more difficult to sell. As a result, more agents are likely to embrace virtual tools that can support lead generation.
Using tech to publish listings and tour open houses is one way to capture buyers’ attention and modernize their home viewing experience. Drone footage, for example, is a proven marketing tool; MLS statistics show listings sold 68% faster when they used aerial images. The ability to access and be notified of pre-market listings outside of the office is another effective way to gauge a property’s interest with buyers and either close deals quickly or optimize marketing once it hits the MLS.
Lastly, when hosting open houses, tablets can make it easier to gather contact information and add it right into an agent’s CRM software. From there, listing information can be sent digitally to visitors, and automated emails can even be sent out shortly after to thank them for their visit and to let them know how to get in touch. Leveraging this technology to maximize efficiency is key to closing more deals in an effective manner.
Cybersecurity and privacy concerns
Security and client privacy are both top of mind for many in the industry, and brokerages can play a critical role in securing sensitive information. It is paramount that agents use encrypted tech and communication channels that treat client data with the utmost care and limit opportunities for compromise.
This means not only ensuring that all agents’ cybersecurity practices are up to snuff, but also that vendor technology is compliant with local, state and national laws. Zillow, as a notable tech example in the industry, is facing a lawsuit regarding a Microsoft integration that is alleged to violate the state of Washington’s Wiretapping Statute.
This should be a lesson to everyone this year and moving forward: agents must ensure the technology vendors they work with are compliant and understand their cybersecurity features to prevent potential crimes.
For agents who heavily rely on broker-approved vendors, this is a key differentiator when selecting what company they work with. When adopting new tech tools, brokers and agents need to be diligent and vet for any potential issues.
Agents may be able to look to their franchises for help. Brokers that provide this piece of mind allow agents to focus on what they do best — selling homes.
The right technology investments
As we enter 2023, we expect to see many of the same challenges of the past year: fluctuating rates, slowly lowering house prices and inflation will continue to affect agents and clients, perhaps in ways we can’t yet anticipate.
As agents brace to continue facing these hurdles and watch out for new ones, enabling better, safer processes via technology is an excellent way to stay on top of production.
Turbulent times call for brokerages and agents to raise the bar on self-investment in order to retain the same level of sales.
Linda Yacoub is the CEO/Product Officer of Listing Alert.
