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Startups Are Transforming How We Buy and Sell Real Estate: Let’s Look Closer

Antonio Coleman
3 min read
Startups Are Transforming How We Buy and Sell Real Estate: Let’s Look Closer

Imagine trying to avoid buyer-broker deals with local agents while trying to get a new home. Even if you decide to search on platforms like Redfin, Zillow, or Trulia, you’ll still need to get a real estate agent when it’s time to see the property even if it’s the agent in charge of the listing and not the buyer-broker.

Consumers are probably the biggest beneficiaries of web real estate tech disruptions. This has also contributed to making the job of an agent more difficult over the years. If we had as many showings and real estate transactions as we did 20 years ago, we would have already felt the impact of the increased number of showings created by web-based services.

However, there has been a noticeable increase in the number of real estate transactions, and the interest rates have maintained historic lows as job seekers have become more mobile.

Amitree is a startup in the Bay Area whose Folio product is used to sort agents’ emails by transaction. Since its launch, this email plug has been used by thousands of agents, which has given Amitree about 10% of the entire real estate transactions in the United States. I visited Jonathan Aizen, the CEO and co-founder of Amitree, to know what his company is doing to help agents better serve their clients.

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Related: 5 Ways Technology Can Change Your Real Estate Business for the Better

Enhancing Customer Experience

The importance of customer experience in business can never be overemphasized; this is why every brand takes it seriously. With Folio, an agent can easily manage her customer’s expectations by projecting an authoritative image throughout the home buying process.

The software also schedules reminders for agents after they confirm or add their key deadlines into it. The agent can choose to set the reminders to be received by both the seller and buyer’s agents. This automatically builds a channel of communication between the client and agent, where the client is kept informed about approaching deadlines and can even reach out if he has additional questions.

Platforms like Agentology can also be used by agents to enhance the customer experience by helping them respond faster to inquiries. The platform has an efficient lead qualification that occurs in the first five minutes of initial inquiry, ensuring that prospects are matched to their ideal agent while creating opportunities for human interactions.

Enhanced Automation Using Artificial Intelligence

Artificial intelligence can make all the difference in automation and how we communicate with consumers.

There has been an increase in the number of real estate owners working with homeowners in recent years. AI tools wouldn’t be so useful if they didn’t help strengthen relationships. This is a great example of how technology empowers people, as opposed to the narrative that it takes away human jobs.

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Related: 4 Ways Technology is Shaking Up Commercial Real Estate (& Why Multifamily Will Pull Ahead)

Changing the Rules Governing Real Estate

Technology is gradually changing the way we practice real estate and altering a lot of expectations about customer experience in general. Companies like Beycome are gradually changing the rules. Thanks to companies like these, businesses and consumers might be able to work independently of real estate agencies when buying, selling, or renting properties.

This particular real estate service has introduced a new level of customer experience that has eliminated the need to pay commissions in real estate. It is an online platform where sellers, buyers, and renters are equipped with marketing tools to handle their real estate transactions, thereby taking power away from real estate agencies.

Free listing service, speed, credible industry advice, a marketplace for service providers, and convenience within a reliable and trusted transaction environment are all examples of tools that empower landlords and sellers.

Using Data to Discern National Trends

The anonymized aggregated data collected by Folio has a lot to offer. Every day, Folio is used to complete thousands of transactions in the United States, accounting for about 5% of all the home-buying transactions across the country.

The ability to know emerging trends in real time is a great skill required by marketers to obtain actionable data for their target market.

According to Aizen, “This is true for agents, brokerages, and the greater real estate tech ecosystem as well.” He also stated, “Today, we’re beginning to explore how we can surface insights to them to help them make better marketing decisions as well.”

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Which companies are you keeping an eye on as the real estate industry changes?

Comment below!

Note By BiggerPockets: These are opinions written by the author and do not necessarily represent the opinions of BiggerPockets.