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Is the real estate market moving online?

Nicholas Wallwork

Nicholas Wallwork

Editor-in-Chief
Staff member
Premium Member
The advances in technology over the last 30 or 40 years have literally changed the face of many industries and continue to do so. One sector which appears to be relatively untouched, on the surface at least, is the real estate market where personal relationships between buyers, sellers and real estate agents are seen as pivotal. However, there are signs that the real estate sector will be embracing technology in the years to come creating significant efficiencies for the new wave of online estate agents.

Relationships will always be important

In reality the real estate market is built upon personal relationships and contacts. In years gone by there were many situations which saw attractive investments snapped up by well-connected investors before they even reached the public arena. This will continue to a certain extent, as will the importance of people to people relationships, but it is the transfer of data and research that will revolutionise the industry going forward.

Research is the key

At the click of a button it is now possible to research not only a potential purchase but also the surrounding area, the history of prices in the region and potential local economy changes going forward. In years gone by this type of data was collated by third parties at considerable expense and indeed many investors seemed to skip this particular action. The situation today sees anybody with an Internet connection able to go online, dig deep and find more information than was thought possible 20 years ago.

There is an argument as to whether people actually need to visit properties in the modern day but in reality there is nothing better than seeing a potential property investment in real life.

Viewing from a distance

There will be many occasions where investors are not able to visit a particular property and therefore they will depend upon remote access. This remote access has taken a significant step forward with the introduction of a variety of drone experts who are now able to fly small aircraft over properties, the local area and also focus on particular parts of a property. It may not beat a physical viewing, there are some drawbacks but when you also take into account real-time remote web cam access to the inner workings of a property, what more do you need?

There are very few properties where a potential buyer does not have an array of questions to ask and again these can be answered via the telephone, email or one of the many online communication services such as Skype.

Is the industry really changing?

It may take some time for the industry to fully appreciate new technology, new viewing trends and the new way of doing business, but there are certainly changes coming through. The more that the sector embraces new technology the more efficient it will become, the lower the running costs and the more cost savings which can be passed on to customers. There will always be a place for real estate advice, for personal viewings but the ability to do the majority of the research ground work before even approaching a real estate agent about a property will save so much time.

The post Is the real estate market moving online? appeared first on Property Forum.

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George79

George79

Member
A see a lot of people choosing to shop for homes online now a days. They pick out which they like the most and then schedule to see them or find a realtor who can take them in the homes. I feel like it can actually save money in the long run for people trying to sell homes as well as produce quicker gains for house flippers and realtors the same. You HAVE to see what you are going to buy though so it being done all online is impossible.
 
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Luke Masters

Member
Premium Member
I think that essentially the market it moving more online although, people will always want an individual or base of the business to liaise with. It helps people to feel comfortable and confident in the people they are dealing with and the gives that business a face and reputability.

I think there will always be a place for high street agents, but they will become more of a hybrid with the online market as time goes on and the search for property becomes ever increasingly online based.

What are other peoples thoughts on this?
 
Izzie Aslam

Izzie Aslam

New Member
With all this technology available to us, it makes sense for some business to go online. However some business will do better online than others,I would say retail will hold a much stronger online base than online property companies simply because they are two different business models one is click,shop,collect or deliver. Where as property it may be good for researching,comparing prices, location/areas and agent reputation etc so people may use online, but property is more of a lifetime investment a tangible product, so people would still appreciate a personal invite to meet a C.E.O or a Director at a local estate agents as its more of a personal touch, I think property being online you lose the physical interaction and that could be damaging as a face to face customer values your time and effort more rather than speaking to an online chat agent who they cant see or even know of their existence.
 
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dasimond

Member
Online portal definitely is much better medium as compare to newspaper in Singapore. not sure if is the same for other country. People in Singapore tends to go very much into internet as handphone is getting more common.

Online is so much easier to find what we want in a much shorter time.
 
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