For real estate agents, there is a fine line in technology and data and Move Inc. is moving to provide research and data from the team that created Realsuite.
In a white paper titled Shift Happens: How to capture, communicate and close in today’s “on demand” world, Move Inc. provides a closer look at some of today’s best practices and reveals some interesting perspectives regarding buyer and seller expectations at each stage in the journey.
It also uncovers stark realities about some of the most common practices within the customer lifecycle, making the case that business-as-usual in today’s market is anything but.
The proprietary insight combines the findings from two research initiatives conducted in 2017 among nationally representative samples of consumers who purchased or sold a home, were currently searching for a new home, or submitted an inquiry on realtor.com, together with data and case studies from business, industry and academia.
Luke Glass, executive vice president, industry platforms for Move, pointed out it is a critical time for real estate professionals. Move also operates leading online real estate destination REALTOR.com® under a perpetual license from the National Association of REALTORS®.
“The emergence of technology and automation onto the scene has greatly improved the real estate process in some ways, yet these findings reveal that many agents are failing to leverage technology or to use it properly at key points along the journey, to the detriment of the agent-client relationship,” Glass said.
At the same time, the research also underscores that the agent;s personal knowledge and touch remains a vital and irreplaceable part of the process. Together, the insights present the case for incorporating technology with personalized service, in order to meet the bar of consumer expectation and deliver optimal value.
“Finding the right balance between automation and personalization is critical to an agent’s ability to deliver an exceptional experience, yield more closed business and bring more repeat and referral business into the pipeline,” Glass added. “The Realsuite platform offers a single solution to help them with this balance and empower them to spend more time with their clients, doing what they do best.”
Move Inc. has found that just 14 percent of consumers are likely to respond to a communication they perceive to be an automated reply.
It also finds that three of the top five qualifiers consumers use when selecting an agent cannot be replaced by technology.
Consumers also are seeking more transparency every step of the way, and three out of four buyers want an online system to track the offer-to-close process.
Move also finds that agents’ insider knowledge such as upcoming assessments, HOA fees and neighborhood detail is just as critical to buyers as pricing trends, recent sales and days on market.
To download the white paper, visit https://www.realsuite.io/research/.
