There’s no doubt that technology is changing the game in real estate. New advances in technology rapidly become the norm, which means that clients, whether they’re viewing your listing or giving you the privilege of selling their home, may expect listings that utilize the latest and greatest tech.
Don’t fall behind the curve! If you haven’t already, consider implementing these bits of real estate technology to bump up the efficacy of your listings.
1. Add Virtual Staging to Empty Homes
Most agents are well aware how important staging can be to finding the right buyer for a home, but did you know that you don’t have physically bring in furniture and accessories to do so? While this obviously doesn’t help when it comes to real life showings, it can make your online listing photos of empty homes really shine.
This is especially spectacular for developments, whether you’re talking condos or single-family homes, since it is more cost effective than staging multiple units to meet the needs of various buyers. You could potentially show buyers with any number of different styles how your listing would look decorated and laid out to suit their lifestyle.
There are services that provide virtual staging, or you could purchase software or use a free version and become a master of virtual staging. It’s sort of akin to Amazon’s AR shopping tool that allows customers to see how various items will look in their home before they purchase them.
2. Provide a Floorplan
Some potential buyers simply won’t get a good idea of the layout of a house based on listing photos. For some more technically minded people, a floorplan might help them to see that a house is set up perfectly to meet their needs. It can also help keep buyers on the hook, allowing them to remember your listing.
There are several apps, software packages, and services available that can turn out a floorplan of your listing. You can even create (or have someone else create) an interactive floorplan that can provide buyers with the opportunity to see the potential in a property.
3. Snag a Pro Cheap
It’s not feasible for most agents to outsource the tasks that they’re just not great at. Maybe you’re not much of a creative writer or spelling and grammar aren’t your thing and your listings suffer because of it. Maybe you could use a video editor or tech savvy social media guru to help you out.
Today, there are several freelance marketplaces that can help you find the professional help you need on a case by case basis. You can hire someone to edit your listings, write your property descriptions, or carry out any other task that can be done virtually at minimal cost either by posting a job listing on a site like Upwork or seeking out a professional on a marketplace like Fiverr. You can even hire a virtual assistant to help you carry out your day-to-day tasks and communications.
4. Get Top-Quality Photography
This is a case where improvements in technology on the part of your consumer means you’ll need to step up your game; pretty much every device that people are viewing listings on having HD capabilities. This means that you’ll need great listing photos, and you can use photo editing software to help make those photos more appealing, changing the lighting in listing photos and removing eye sores.
Drone photography is a great tech development for real estate agents, as well, particularly when it comes to large properties. It can get unique shots of the outside of properties and provide clients with a view of the landscape that was cost-prohibitive when the only way to snap aerial photos was from a real-life aircraft.
Should You Opt in to Real Estate Listing Tech?
Cost is a factor and expensive tech may be best saved for high dollar listings, but there are plenty of ways you can enhance your listings at little to no additional cost to you. Take the time to get familiar with some of the new advances in real estate listing technology; you can bet it’ll be worth it in the long run.