Getting started in the real estate business is never easy. There’s a lot to learn and many people who want to take your money for it.
The last thing you need is many techs that promise to make things easier but end up making everything more complicated. The good thing is that technology has been a real game-changer in the real estate industry.
In this article, we’ll look at eight ways technology may be used to make your life easier when running a real estate company – from marketing yourself online, managing leads, recruiting agents, or even automating paperwork. Let’s dive right in.
1) Online Marketing for Real Estate Agents
Real Estate agents have never had more marketing options, but they also have more choices than ever. This is primarily thanks to the Internet.
You can post on sites for free or cheap where your listings will be advertised to an audience that may end up buying or selling a house soon – like Zillow, Trulia, and Realtor.com.
Not every real estate agent knows this, but Facebook offers a service called Custom Audiences, where you can upload your mailing list and create ads that target people on the social platform who are in your database.
2) Online Learning and Certification
Building a real estate business is hard, especially when you are learning on your own. However, thanks to technology, there are online courses you can take. These online institutions will put you under an innovative program on real estate hence making you sharper in your field.
Even better, you have an opportunity of searching for reputable institutions you can target for the real estate course. These days, it’s easy to find and obtain a proper certification online with websites such as Real Estate Schooler.
Since time is becoming more limited, online attainment of such qualifications can be crucial. Since such documents are credible, you can safely attach them to your work profile. This adds to your competitiveness.
3) Managing Leads
One of the biggest challenges real estate agents face is managing leads. These are contacts that represent possible clients who may buy or sell a house, but at this stage, they are only potential customers. It might be easier if you had some technology to help with this task.
Nowadays, there are programs like Hubspot, which offers software for marketing, managing leads, and even email campaigns. The good thing is that you don’t have to be tech-savvy to use it. It’s relatively intuitive.
Trulia has its lead management program, which they call Trulia Connect. Trulia makes the process of handling your leads easy with this tool by giving you a centralized place to view, track and convert your leads.
4) Real Estate Search Engines
Technology has revolutionized the real estate landscape in so many ways. When it comes to searching for property listings, search engines now give you access to properties without having to leave your desk or spend hours online. These include Trulia, Point2 Homes, HouseHunt, and many more.
Some of these sites even have map-based search options that allow you to narrow down your search by radius. This is great if you are looking for something in a specific area or near public transportation, for instance.
5) Decision Support Tools
When it comes to real estate decision-making, there are tools such as Zillow’s Zestimate and automated property valuation systems that provide you with estimated property price ranges. These tools can help you decide whether it makes sense to list a property at a specific price or not.
Technology has made it easier than ever to market yourself online, manage leads and search for property listings. There are decision support tools like zestimates that can help decide whether or not to list a house at a specific price.
Tools such as Hubspot are great for managing your leads too. Therefore, you don’t have to spend hours on end trying to sort through them all.
