Is every real estate brokerage now a tech firm specializing in real estate? It certainly seems that way, particularly since foundational real estate firms such as Keller Williams are now rebranding themselves as tech firms that, incidentally, specialize in real estate.
Here are some things to consider into the New Year while pondering this question and how you define your own (might I say?) real estate business:
It appears that technology is transforming the underlying infrastructure of buying/selling/leasing properties and asset management. No more manual processes, no more poor team coordination, no more disjointed or disparate systems. No more having to go to multiple vendors and/or services such as lenders, appraisers, title officers, insurance specialists to get deals done. One system, one platform is and will be managing every thing and every one in one place for more informed, convenient easy and fast decisions.
Prediction for 2019: One and done will be the name of the infrastructure game in real estate. That oneness and doneness are and will be enabled by technology.
Market data is and will be another game changer in real estate. Benchmarks for market data will zero in on comparing property-level performance against market-level performance. The metrics may vary based upon property type and property usage but any metric used will derive from real-time transaction data. The more finely honed transaction data and analytics for specific real estate purposes, the better
Prediction for 2019: The market data necessary for real estate development and transactions will be based upon real-time transaction data. The specificity of transaction data and analytics are enabled by technology.
Managing buyer/seller/investor/tenant/developer relationships is and will become the focus for ALL buyer/seller/investor/tenant/developer relationships. Building ongoing relationships is and will become ever more important for real estate professionals moving forward. Critical to this relationship building process is being able to build relationships at scale. Capturing ALL relationship data in ONE place helps to retain high-value clients, mollify risk and accelerate the transactional opportunities.
Prediction for 2019: Continuous and consistent relationship development and management are and will be key for ALL real estate professionals. Developing and managing those relationships AT SCALE will be enabled by technology.
Real estate consumers, regardless of their motivation or function, EXPECT every single search, inquiry and/or transaction to be easy, simple, convenient, flexible and fast. Real estate professionals must define their services and offerings to meet those expectations. Thinly sliced data targeting is essential to delivering appropriate, nuanced services/systems/communications that are smooth, seamless , and consistent.
Prediction for 2019: Building customer services around customer expectations is and will become even more critical for real estate professionals. Technology will enable those services with behind-the-scenes systems that facilitate SMOOTH, CONSISTENT, FAST, SIMPLE connections both on and offline.
Millennial and Gen Z talent assumes savvy tech systems and cultures. Real estate professionals must create innovative cultures and/or options in order to attract and retain this talent.
Prediction for 2019: Technology will enable real estate professionals to attract and retain talent. Innovative cultures and mindsets plus opportunities for innovation are key factors for job candidates.
