Modern technology is responsible for drastic changes across all industries, but real estate businesses have often lagged behind. As an industry that relies on building strong personal and professional relationships, real estate hasn’t seen a need to adapt to technology trends.
However, if real estate companies don’t embrace disruption, they’ll surely disappear. To stay competitive, you’ll need to adjust to rapid changes and set achievable technology goals.
How to Set Technology Goals Based on Industry Trends
If you’re knowledgeable of industry trends, you’ll be able to adapt software that appeals to your buyer group. Here are 5 trends that will change the way your real estate office does business.
1. Millennials are the Leading Buyer Group
Millennials are still the largest buyers demographic of homes, and they likely will be for a while. To appeal to this group, real estate businesses must adopt new technology, like transaction management software, that shows you’re committed to efficiency and the “new age.”
Not only that, but Millennial homeowners have different home buying goals and prefer to look at online listings before making an in-person viewing appointment. By understanding how Millennials purchase homes and communicate, businesses can buy tech that suits that need.
2. The New Business Models of Real Estate
Millennials prefer a turnkey solution when it comes to purchasing a home; they’ll only buy a fixer-upper if they don’t have a choice. With this knowledge, multiple middle-man industries are popping up to satisfy customers, like TurnKey, Airbnb, WeWork, CasaOne, and Zeus.
There are subsections of real estate purchasers that don’t even buy homes to live in them. Instead, they’re renting out furniture, rooms, or office space. To compete in this market, businesses must integrate their platforms with these businesses or partner with them directly.
3. Real Estate Industry Globalization Digitization
PropTech real estate, which allows buyers to research, buy, manage, or sell their property, is being used by 42 countries as of 2022. Since the pandemic, the trend of adopting technology has scaled upwards, but businesses have to take this trend globally to keep selling properties.
Buyers are going to want to buy properties in the US as an investment, but they need real-time data to make it happen. Adopting software and tech gadgets that allow your business to send property analytics to foreign markets will make you a reliable source for property purchases.
4. The Need for Local Market Focus in Some Areas
Investors prefer to invest in markets where they already have some experience and information. In places like Germany, where stabilization is preferred, homes have sold surprisingly well despite the pandemic. By lowering properties in metropolitan areas, buyers bought readily.
Although prices have gone back up in large cities, there is still a need for a local market focus, specifically in smart home technology and the Internet of Things. Investing in these areas can help your business earn more money, either through property management or direct selling.
5. Changing Priorities in the Real Estate Market
As a real estate business, your main proprietary is to sell houses, apartments, and land plots. However, if your customers don’t find your website or the buying process user-friendly, they won’t buy from you. It won’t matter how good your agents are or how well known your name is.
Your buyers want a convenient experience, so it should be your goal to make your platforms as easy to use as possible. That includes investing in artificial intelligence algorithms that show your customers targeted ads, but it may also include an app for effective property management.
