Data from residential property platform Leadhome suggests that their agents sell four times more properties than the industry average by simply making it easier for agents to do their jobs.
The differentiator? Technology. John Murray, Leadhome Chief Technology Officer (CTO), says that data-driven insights and automation are increasingly impacting the real estate industry, with a new breed of tech-savvy agents gaining a significant competitive advantage over their more traditional peers. And the biggest advantage? The ability to make more accurate appraisals, which enables agents to deliver better, more transparent service to buyers and sellers alike.
Property valuations
Determining the value of a property can often result in a tough conversation between an agent and a seller.
Murray says that Leadhome’s proprietary valuation tool automates industry best practices for property appraisals, thus making it easy for agents to consistently provide sellers with accurate valuations on their properties. “93% of our agents’ signed-and-sealed transactions fall within 10% of our valuations,” says Murray. “With help from our data and technology, our agents are able to price properties more accurately, which results in faster sales. It’s a win-win situation for all parties.”
The platform gathers data from numerous external sources and combines it with the valuation information physically collected by agents, does all the calculations, and automatically generates user-friendly reports. Online dashboards give sellers full visibility on what’s happening with their properties. They can get real-time marketing stats and manage viewings, at any time of day or night.
It’s easy to track the metrics: Over 60% of Leadhome’s sellers log into the dashboard weekly, and 89% of sellers say they’re “happy” or “very happy” with the platform. In terms of age, while the 30-40-years-old age bracket is the single largest ‘decade’ of sellers using the dashboard, the number of sellers between 40- and 60-years-old is significantly larger, indicating the technology’s ease of use.
When looking at the buyer statistics, the 30-40 group is again the largest group, and here female users outnumber males by around 60/40.
Further, about a quarter of all Leadhome’s viewings are booked online – totalling around 101,000 viewings over the past two years.
Buyers aren’t left out of the loop. They can cancel or reschedule viewings online and the platform generates email/SMS confirmations and calendar invites. After a viewing, 58% of buyers give feedback to the agent online. Buyers can also track the process and, if they’re undecided about a property, they’ll be sent a reminder. An important benefit for buyers is built-in functionality that enables them to apply for pre qualified loans.
Self-service automation
Murray says that the call for self-service channels is increasing: “In our ever-busier, tech-driven world, phone calls are often an inconvenience. Across industries, consumers are demanding the ability to interact when and how it best suits them. Our platform enables this. Additionally, everything that an agent would traditionally have manually communicated to a buyer or seller is now delivered via an easy-to-manage, transparent dashboard. The only time our agents need to speak to a client is when they need to have a substantive conversation.”
Freeing agents of a substantial amount of manual work means that they have more time to find, and sell, more properties. Another win-win.
Murray stresses that Leadhome’s technology does not, and will never, remove the agent from the equation. “Our platform enables agents to do what they’re good at: build relationships, give informed advice, and close transactions. Our automation ensures that no lead is ever missed, and that all clients also get the human service that’s needed to build trust. Instead of replacing agents, as many feared proptech would do, our platform takes the admin out of the equation so that our agents can focus on doing what they do best.”