We have all heard about the opportunities and threats posed by the arrival of AI. Even those with the slightest interest in technology will have heard about Chat GPT. And yet for all its hype, Chat GPT’s spotlight seems to have lasted about the same length of time as the average property transaction.

Whilst Chat GPT is only a tiny segment of an AI industry that will be intrinsic in making the property sector more efficient, there is no substitute for a handshake, no replacement for the reassurance of human interaction. Done properly, the world of estate agency is one of the few sectors that can capitalise on the opportunities that AI will present, without having to worry about being replaced.

Embracing technology

For all of the opportunities that AI will present in the future, there are challenges that agents face today that can be solved by embracing technology. Ever growing transaction times, uncertainty and a lack of information parity between buyer and seller create frustration and poor customer experiences. For the most part it is the agent that bears the brunt and blame for issues that are often not of their creation (before everyone points at conveyancers, it’s often not the conveyancer’s fault either!).

AI is likely to augment the role of estate agents and enhance the services they provide.

Robin Rathore

Agents can use technology to solve these challenges. Whether it’s video tours and viewings, taking or creating better photos, streamlined vendor onboarding, better chain visibility, digital legal packs or offering alternative sale methods, the best technologies in the property sector have one thing in common. They complement and improve the estate agent’s job, give agents more control and keep agency at the heart of the transaction. Greater collaboration between suppliers can also help to create a more embracing attitude towards technology adoption.

Alto integration

Last month, Bamboo celebrated its integration with Alto, along with the launch of a brand new auction dashboard for agents. Our integration identifies properties that are appropriate for auction and gives agents the control and ability to list those properties for sale by online auction without having to duplicate data entry. This integration has been built with one purpose in mind – to help our agents sell more properties.

Everything we do at Bamboo is centred around this purpose; if there’s a feature on our tech roadmap or a project in our customer success team that doesn’t have this purpose at its heart, we don’t pursue it. By focussing on our single purpose, we have become experts in our field, concentrating on delivering the best possible online auction technology and customer service to our agent partners and opening the door to innovation and development when there is a need and a challenge to solve. In this way, as we continue to launch new and ever more complex technologies, we’re always keeping agents at the heart of the transaction and helping them sell more properties.

Postscript

After I wrote this article, I asked Chat GPT what it ‘thought’ about the future of estate agency and whether AI would replace estate agents. Here’s what it said:

“It’s important to note that while technology is playing a significant role in the evolution of estate agencies, the industry is also built on personal relationships and trust. Successful estate agents will likely find ways to balance technology with the personalised service and expertise that clients expect.

“AI and technology are transforming the real estate industry, but it’s unlikely that they will completely replace estate agents in the foreseeable future. Instead, AI is more likely to augment the role of estate agents and enhance the services they provide.”

Turns out, Chat GPT agrees with me!

The post AI stands for Agent Intelligence appeared first on The Negotiator.

Tappter and Kerfuffle teamed up to host a round table event at the Hoxton Hotel in London. The esteemed attendees included some of the most influential figures in the UK property industry including Nathan Emerson (Propertymark) , Vicky Bibiris (Location Location) , Kristjan Byfield (Base & The Depositary), Davinia & Gary Taylor (Northwood), Graeme Wadhams (Seymours), Liana Loporto (WIEA), Amy Shields (Smart Compliance) and Paul Morgan (Arun Estates).  The event was chaired by Simon Whale (Kerfuffle) and hosted by Tappter and their co-founder Keith Banwaitt.

The goal was to explore the opportunities that digitisation can provide for estate agents, including the use of new technologies such as WhatsApp. Together, they discussed the challenges and potential solutions that could help modernise the industry and make it more efficient.

Why digitise?

The digitisation of businesses is becoming increasingly important as the world moves towards a more digital economy. Digitalisation allows companies to increase efficiency and streamline operations, creating a more cost-effective and efficient way of doing business. It also allows companies to better serve their customers by providing them with more convenient and engaging customer experiences.

Everyone understands the concept of digitisation, that of turning the analogue into digital but how and where in practice do you start?

What can we learn from other industries? Who has done it well?

We can look to other industries who have successfully implemented digitalisation initiatives. The retail industry is a great example; by using digital tools like e-commerce, companies are able to provide customers with more convenient shopping experiences and increase their bottom line.. Other industries, such as the hospitality industry, have been able to use digital tools such as mobile check-in, online booking, and automated customer service systems to improve the customer experience.

Nathan Emerson said if he was starting a new agency tomorrow his first recruit would be in marketing. His view on the importance of prioritising customer experience is echoed by many businesses across different sectors. Companies understand that in order to remain competitive they need to focus on providing a great customer experience. This means investing in digital tools and platforms that will allow them to better engage with their customers and provide them with an enhanced customer experience.

Compiling customer profile data, which in turn aids greater personalisation, is an important part of the process. It’s therefore important that internal staff, especially sales people who naturally prefer to engage conversationally versus doing admin tasks, are provided with tools that make the most of their natural personalities whilst contributing towards a digital customer profile in parallel – there is a trend towards “conversational” customer experiences which allows everyone involved to feel connected as humans. In property, that manifests with people feeling happier and more productive whilst working through what would otherwise be stressful processes.

As part of the session we asked “How important is it to you as a company that you prioritise customer experience, on a scale of 1-10”. Unsurprisingly the response was overwhelming and scored 96 out of 100, reinforcing the importance of committing to digitalisation as part of your company’s overall communications strategy.

By investing in digital tools, companies are able to ensure that they are providing their customers with an enhanced customer experience and staying ahead of the competition. Digitalisation also allows companies to take advantage of new revenue and value-producing opportunities, helping them to remain competitive and successful.

What are the challenges of digitisation?

When it comes to digital transformation, the biggest challenge that companies face is often budget constraints. Most companies simply don’t have enough money to invest in the infrastructure and personnel required to ensure a successful transition to a digital platform. Additionally, many companies lack the organizational structure needed to effectively manage the shift to a digital environment. A clear strategy for digitisation needs to be established with specific goals and objectives in order to ensure success.

Another common problem is the lack of expertise necessary to lead digitisation initiatives. Without a clear understanding of the various platforms and tools available, it can be difficult for companies to make informed decisions about how best to use these technologies. Furthermore, it is critical to have experts on hand who understand the compliance related issues such as GDPR that must be adhered to when carrying out digital transformations.

Finally, there is always the risk of employee pushback. Companies need to be cognizant of how their staff will react to any changes that come with digital transformation and ensure that they are properly educated and supported throughout the process. This includes investing in the right internal Comm’s team, who can help ensure employees are aware of any changes and willing to embrace them.

Vicky Bibiris was very clear that anything that simply added to additional work even with the intent of saving time and energy was a non starter and that far too many Proptech solutions fell into this category.

The Key questions that were debated:

1. How important is it to you as a company that you prioritise customer experience, on a scale of 1-10?
2. On a scale of 1-10, how would you rate the customer experience your business provides today?
3. Rank those comms tools your business currently uses in terms of importance? (Tools included Telephone, Email, Direct Mail, Text Messaging, Facebook, WhatsApp etc
4. What are the largest barriers to digital transformation?  (Barriers included Limited Budget, Organisational Structure, Employee Pushback, Compliance related issues, eg. GDPR etc
5. What have you done to date to try and digitise your business?

For full answers and access to the white paper see below.

How can you overcome these challenges?

Communication is key when it comes to overcoming the challenges of digitising your estate agency. It’s essential to make sure that everyone involved in the process understands what the goal is, and how to reach it. It’s also important to set clear expectations for everyone involved in order to ensure that the process runs as smoothly as possible. As well as setting expectations, it is important to be open and honest with all stakeholders, and use effective communication techniques such as holding regular meetings and conference calls.

It is also important to ensure that your team is up-to-date with the latest technologies and trends in the industry, so they can leverage this knowledge to improve their practices. This could include attending industry events, conferences, or seminars; reading relevant materials and resources; or seeking out professional advice. Additionally, by investing in quality staff training, you can provide them with the skills they need to make the most out of digital solutions.

Finally, establishing a strong online presence is an essential part of succeeding in the digital world. Investing in professional website design, content creation, and digital marketing will help you reach a wider audience, generate more leads, and increase sales. Having a strong social media presence can also be beneficial for building relationships with potential customers and providing valuable insights into customer behaviour.

What are the benefits of digitisation?

Digitisation of the property industry brings with it a wide range of benefits that can be harnessed to increase efficiency, drive growth and improve customer service. Digitising your estate agency can help you streamline processes, reduce costs, increase customer satisfaction and create an effective online presence.

By digitising your agency, you will gain access to a range of innovative technologies that can help you better manage customer relationships and keep up with changing market conditions. This includes the use of automated customer relationship management (CRM) systems, automated marketing communications (Comm’s) tools, and digital asset management systems. These technologies enable you to track customer activity, create targeted campaigns, and monitor and respond to customer inquiries in real-time. Additionally, they provide you with valuable data that can be used to analyse trends and make informed decisions about your business.

Digitising your agency also offers greater opportunities for collaboration with other estate agents and potential customers. You can create customised content to showcase properties and communicate more effectively with customers. Furthermore, digitisation helps to build trust with customers by providing them with transparent and secure access to data and services.

What are the other human benefits? For estate agents, anxiety is created due to not getting paid until a sales / tenancy actually completes. That’s a lot of upfront effort being invested at risk. From a customer perspective, the thought of losing out on the dream home can leave them feeling frantic and stressed. Is it possible for technology to help to reduce such mental health impacts? Can a technology stitch together not just businesses and the communication flow between them, but also include the customer as part of the conversation to leave everyone more informed? And, is this possible without requiring complex technical / API integrations which come with significant budgetary / implementation considerations?

Ultimately, digitisation helps estate agents to stay ahead of their competition and stay connected with their customers, resulting in increased productivity, improved customer service and more successful sales.

“What’s the cost of NOT implementing a digital strategy?”

 Whilst there were many different views on the initial steps needed to digitise, everyone was on the same page that doing nothing wasn’t an option. It was clear there was consensus that those agents that got ahead of the wave in this would have a demonstrable strategic advantage over those that stayed analogue. Simply stated digitisation doubles down on what tech is meant to do in the first place, namely that of ‘doing more with less’. Scalability in a digitised business is far easier to manage.

Conclusions

At the end of the round table discussion between the UK property industry leaders, the consensus was clear. While digitisation may present some challenges, it is essential for the successful operation of modern estate agents. That said, whilst it digitisation was important, the majority view was that people buy houses from… people. It’s therefore hugely important to not lose the personal touch when adopting technology, but rather find that important balance to ensure the technology complements the people. Simply put, digitisation helps you scale the personal message better than ever before.

In order to overcome these challenges, it is important to look for innovative solutions that can bring together all the comm’s involved in a property transaction into one cohesive story. Investing in software and technology that can do this will help make sure the customer’s journey is seamless and efficient. In short, embracing digital transformation and working to integrate multiple systems is key to success in a fast-paced, ever-evolving market.

If you’d like to take part in the white paper itself and as a result receive further insights then please take a few minutes here to get involved and put your own thoughts on the subject. We’ll be providing a simple step by step guide of how to progress your own digitisation journey.

https://kerfuffle.getfeedback.com/r/UfNdTrxv

For any companies that would like to be considered for part of the Trailblazer programme around digitisation of comm’s that Tappter are running please drop a line to simon@kerfuffle.com

The post ROUNDTABLE: Digitisation in the property industry appeared first on The Negotiator.

“Jarvis, are you there?”
“At your service, sir.” 
“Engage heads-up display.”
“Check.” 
“Import all preferences from home interface…”

OpenAI’s ChatGPT has advanced in just a few months from being able to pass the US law school entrance exam in the bottom 10% to passing in the top 10%. The so-called ‘Godfather of AI’, Geoffrey Hinton, has quit Google to warns over the potential threat he thinks it poses.

But you can’t hold back the tide of change. In fact AI is already being used in estate agency and its ability to process huge amounts of data and analyse its potential is set to transform the industry. Rexlabs is one of the leaders in the field, and as CEO Anton Babkov explains, there has been an enormous amount of development over the past 10 years to build audiences that have a propensity to do a particular thing – whether it be to buy a BMW or to buy a property. “That is machine learning and AI,” he observes.

We see it as the work you do is going to be more nuanced and more valuable. So it has this really amazing opportunity to elevate the industry to do more, better. Anton Babkov CEO Rexlabs.

“In Australia we send out lots of emails to stay in contact with customers and that provides really rich context for running a machine learning model over the CRM. That’s AI models being run over core data and over time getting more and more accurate around ‘this person might be selling their home in the next three months.”

Analysing the mood of emails

The two areas where he sees AI generating the most change are in communications and insight generation. “So this person might buy, this person might sell, this person might rent, this person wants their property to be rented. But it’s more nuanced than that – this person is getting frustrated because you are not selling their property based on the tenor of their communications that are coming in. So Rex ingests email content and can receive a copy of outbound emails from an agent, running analysis over that and producing insights when a customer might be at risk.

“It can do the same thing on the property management side, finding out when a property is at risk of churn, or having machine-learning models run over rental properties to identify where there is potential for rental increases based on local area data.

“The portals are already generating intent-based insights that we are working with them on to embed into the leads that come in. ‘Is this person low, medium or high?’ – based in terms of likelihood to make a sale or to pitch a property, and the same on the rental side.”

As Babkov explains, when you marry geographic, pricing and economic data with the subject-matter context of a person receiving a message, “you get some pretty powerful stuff”.

He continues: “You might write an email welcoming a new purchaser to an area, because that’s a good piece of customer service, pointing out the top five cafes and childcare centres that might be relevant for that person based on where they are.”

Changing the tone

That’s something many agents already do, you might think. But where AI comes in is that you can change the tone to sound more like you; and you can use its general context awareness to inject additional information.

“You can also use it to target the messaging to the characteristics of the person you are talking to. So are they a football fan, have they travelled recently, what age demographic are they, are they married, do they have children,” continues Babkov.

“How might the tone or substance of the communication that you are sending to a prospect or a customer change based on those things? So what’s interesting is marrying all those things, and the place where all that information sits is the CRM, if it’s well maintained.”

Babkov believes AI will actually make it easier for an estate agent to do their job better. “We don’t see this as getting rid of a bunch of work, we see it as the work you do is going to be more nuanced and more valuable. So it has this really amazing opportunity to elevate the industry to do more, better.

Writing property descriptions

Dawson Scott, Chief Technology and Product Officer (CTPO?) at Reapit agrees that AI is already being used by the industry and will continue to grow in importance. Reapit is working on an AI-driven CRM system that will be able to automatically upload property details to portals and update the property status to ‘Under offer’ or ‘Sold’, among other functions.

In one of our products, for example, we are leveraging ChatGPT to create captivating property descriptions by incorporating property characteristics. Dawson Scott Chief Technology Officer, Reapit.

Like Babkov, Scott doesn’t see AI as something to be feared, but rather embraced as a tool that will streamline workflow and transactions. “When a property’s status changes, the system could automatically update the information on relevant portals and synchronise it across all platforms,” he explains. “This would ensure that all stakeholders, including estate agents, buyers and sellers have access to the most up-to-date and accurate information.”

AI-driven CRM systems could also automate other aspects of property management, such as scheduling viewings, sending out notifications and reminders, and generating reports. “In one of our products, for example, we are leveraging ChatGPT to create captivating property descriptions by incorporating property characteristics. This aids agents in producing compelling descriptions that successfully highlight the property.”

He highlights several ways in which AI will help agents to do their jobs better, such as cutting out repetitive tasks, enabling them to focus on what they do best – building client relationships and closing deals.

Other areas were he sees it making inroads include personalising customer experience to provide tailored recommendations; enhancing decision-making by providing insights and predictive analytics; and the creation of intelligent chatbots and virtual assistants to answer customer queries, schedule appointments and even pre-qualify leads.

Automated conveyancing

Looking further ahead, Scott believes there are several ways in which AI will revolutionise the property industry, including automated conveyancing and chain management. AI could streamline the conveyancing process by automating document analysis, due-diligence checks and legal compliance, not only speeding up the process but also reducing the risk of errors and oversights.

Meanwhile automated chain management could predict potential issues that may cause delays or breakdowns, reducing the likelihood of property chains breaking down. Data mining is another area where Scott sees huge potential, with AI able to analyse vast amounts of data, revealing hidden patterns that will identify market trends and enable agents to deploy targeted marketing initiatives.

Scott believes AI driven data-mining could also potentially offer enhanced customer profiling; improved market trend analysis; better lead scoring, by determining the quality of leads; and customer sentiment analysis, where AI can gauge customer sentiment and satisfaction levels.

A more personalised offering

Over at Zoopla, Head of Data Science, Chanuki Seresinhe believes the biggest opportunity offered by AI is to create a better consumer experience by providing a more personalised offering. “For example, at the moment we’re running a test using AI which analyses consumer behaviour on the site and shows similar listings for sale based on these insights,” she says.

For example, at the moment we’re running a test using AI which analyses consumer behaviour on the site and shows similar listings for sale based on these insights. Chanuki Seresinhe Head of Data Science, Zoopla.

“This is proving successful so far and we’ve already seen an uptick in consumer engagement with our site as a result. We’re actively exploring how we can roll out similar tests to further help consumers find the right home they are looking for as well, as aiding them in their selling process.”

Seresinhe sees AI providing a huge opportunity to provide a more personalised experience for consumers to help them find what they are looking for.

“This is already happening in industries like travel, with Airbnb using AI to provide personalised search results that match consumers with listings that not only align with their preferences, but also with neighbourhoods and experiences that meet their needs and interests,” she notes.

No-one seems to think AI will create job losses in the property sector, at least in the foreseeable future.

“I believe there’s a real opportunity to use AI to improve the property life cycle for all stakeholders involved – be it through providing more insights to vendors looking to sell, or using AI to add useful and reliable area information to help people make the right decision when choosing their new home.”

Like her counterparts, Seresinhe doesn’t see AI as a threat to jobs in the property industry, but rather a tool that will reduce their administrative burden and provide them with more time to focus on what they do best – “winning instructions and drumming up interest for properties on the market”.

‘Massive opportunity’ to improve legal process

It’s not just the big players that are looking at AI. Iamproperty is a highly successful UK property auction portal that has its own highly customisable CRM tool, Openview.

Co-founder Ben Ridgway sees a “massive opportunity” for AI, particularly when it comes to the legal process.

“I’m not sure how much it can transform the front end of the process because it’s a people business and people buy off people – it’s a big decision. Do they want to talk to AI to help them select a property? I don’t think they do,” he says.

It will never in my view replace the people doing the conveyancing because of the risk of getting it wrong, but it will absolutely help to support them. Ben Ridgway Co-founder, Iamproperty.

“However the bit we are interested in is once a sale is agreed. In our business we do a lot of the legal work up front – we are creating 1,500, to 2,000 auction packs a month at the moment; full title review, searches, rent disclosures, standard enquiries. We’ve got a big team delivering that.

“It’s important we get the information right and we are currently looking at how we can integrate AI into helping us to provide summaries on titles, helping us to search data quicker and provide a summary report.”

Boosting sales progression

Ridgway see conveyancing as the biggest source of friction in property and says AI “will take some of the heavy lifting off staff to help them focus on those relationships”.

“It will never in my view replace the people doing the conveyancing because of the risk of getting it wrong, but it will absolutely help to support them, increase their bandwidth, deliver better service and communicate more.”

He agrees that AI could have a big impact in the CRM system, “probably around some of those tasks like sales progression; and could you get it to analyse a chain and to make intelligent actions and contact people when certain things haven’t happened?”

However, a lot of it will come down to having access to the right data, he believes. “If you can’t feed the right level of data into it to make informed decisions then it can’t make them. There is huge potential around data and integrations, but how that data is shared is going to have to change fairly dramatically before it can start to do the really clever stuff.

“The potential is there. I think the blocker, if I’m honest, is commercial reasons. People are worried about sharing data – personally I think we need to collaborate more and then opportunities for improving the process will be much easier.”

Glimpse of the future

No-one seems to think AI will create job losses in the property sector, at least in the foreseeable future. But what of the long-term? What will the future look like?

For Babkov, the movies may not be too wide of the mark: “Some of the things we’ve seen in film as like Iron Man, where there is this Jarvis, butler-style highly-intelligent evolved assistants – that’s where CRM is potentially going to go. “It’s going to be in the background doing a lot of the work for you, providing you with an interface and surfacing the most important activity and the most valuable conversations you can have. It will arm you with nuances about the market and the local area and the person you are talking to.

“An agent will ask, ‘What should I be doing to prospect today’ and the CRM will bring up the top 20 contacts that should be contacted and provides some advice on what they should do to get them over the line.

“What’s changed is the pace of change – with AI it’s super quick.”

The post A.I. in agency appeared first on The Negotiator.

The group recently set up an advisory board armed with a large pile of City investor cash and it has been busy building a portfolio of proptech firms. It now has six – Starberry, LeadPro, The Property Jungle, BriefYourMarket, Yomdel and Know Your Market.

Nigel Lewis

But it’s not a new model – i.e. back or buy proptech firms and then scale them up through an existing network of branches, no doubt with the aim of selling them off for a profit once they’re up and running and making a profit.

London estate agency LiFE Residential did just this a few years ago – buying up a handful of proptech firms and then giving them scale by employing their services within their mainly lettings business.

This included putting cash into Goodlord, its most notable investment, but also access management platform KeyNest and licensing compliance service Kamma.

And neither are the first property firm to invest in tech; for example Savills has ploughed millions into YOPA and Countrywide, prior to its acquisition by Connells, was an early backer of several lettings technology platforms.

What about success?

But what many commentators forget to mention when salivating over the latest tech initiative or launch, is whether these services, which by and large are pitched at sales or lettings agents rather than to consumers (renting app Movebubble tried that and eventually ran out of road) are ever likely to succeed as businesses.

If estate agents don’t think your tech is useful, then it’s dead in the water.

Having watched so many of these companies launch and attract millions in funding from angel or later-stage investors, I have come to the conclusion that far too much emphasis is put on the funding and too little on their growth or viability.

Much is made of ‘scale’ in within this community – which is shorthand for ‘market size’. Some do make it and use tech to make a process better, drawing thousands of agents into onto their platform, the most famous example being Fixflo.

It was launched in 2013 by landlord and lawyer Rajeev Nayyar and quickly gained traction among residential property managers and letting agents as a cute way to triage tenant requests for repairs or maintenance work. It was a long slog – Nayyar sold the company to a huge German tech firm in May last year after gaining 1,500 clients and over a million properties.

The point I’m trying to make is that the successful proptechs are the ones that plug away in the background; estate agents as Nayyar himself pointed out once, are a highly entrepreneurial lot and if they don’t think your tech is useful, then it’s dead in the water, as many tech platforms have discovered to their investors’ cost.

I can fix this…

The first mistake many make is that the CEOs all too often have bought or rented a house for the first time, had a bad experience and then assumed tech can make it better. If I had £10 for every time I’ve heard that, I’d have enough to buy everyone a stiff double at the bar of the next Negotiator Awards.

The truth is that only some processes – such as conveyancing or fault reporting – really lend themselves to tech.

That’s because they are either linear and involve a few steps like fault reporting or deposit registration or they bring together existing tech onto one platform like sales progression platforms such as Mio or ViewMyChain. Consequently, after talking to some of the proptech beasts, it’s clear to me that despite the nurture initiative, the first ‘gold rush’ or investor cash has come to an end.

And as Nurtur.group proves (backed by cash from Tosca Fund) the smart money is going into the tech that can become part of a suite of services on a platform offered to agents through membership organisations or digital platforms, including Propertymark’s recent dipping of toes into the water via the US-backed REACH programme.

I think the days when high-rolling young things can grab the industry by the scruff of the neck and ‘disrupt the hell out of it’ (as one once said to me) with blistering new tech never seen before, are now over.

The post Pop goes the proptech appeared first on The Negotiator.

The existing model of estate agency in the UK is “fundamentally flawed”, according to proptech expert and futurologist James Dearsley. In a wide-ranging interview for The Negotiator, he says agents were addicted to the “gateway drug” of property portals and added, “Unless they change, the model is going to slowly die out.”

“Everyone has become so reliant on portals they are only focused on buyers and they are only focused on search.”

Dearsley sees a new model emerging that is focused much more on customer service, offering a door-to-door package rather than just being a key-holding and viewing service. He believes that model will be much closer to the US and Australian model of real estate brokers, with self-employed agents working for a licensed broker.

“The whole model of what that future broker will look like is probably very different,” he says. “What I think needs to happen is a more well-rounded service, it’s not just around the buying of the house, there needs to be a lot more hand-holding to do before the transaction, and on the finance side of it.”

One new trend he sees growing is the ‘buy before you sell’ model – which, as well as providing instant sales, also avoids long, vulnerable conveyancing chains. Dearsley cites the US agent Opendoor as one example. The firm buys properties from vendors at market value, taking a commission out of the proceeds – though commission is substantially higher in America; Opendoor charges 5%, which is below the US average.

Bridging the gaps

Another option for ‘buy before you sell’ is bridging finance, which has come a long way from the old days when it was regarded with suspicion, and interest rates are much more realistic.

“Can you help the buyers at the point of transaction – can you get in there before they put their house on the market?” he asks. “If you are going to justify the fees you are going to charge, you have to differentiate your offering from everybody else, and at the moment nobody is doing that.

“You’ve almost got to look at three or four key areas the future broker is going to have to be able to facilitate – it’s not just about the buying of the property it’s about almost everything that goes with that.”

Proptech and Covid

Looking at how proptech has changed the industry over the past year, Dearsley says Covid has had a “transformational effect” that has probably accelerated change by a decade.

“Before Covid there was no real reason to change the way it has always been done,” he points out. “Covid forced this technological and innovative methodology – it had to come in, and some of it will stay.

“If you consider the definition of proptech – which is more about a mentality shift than a technical shift – Covid has taken us forward 10 years. It’s not just about the transactions now, it’s also about the service.

“Beforehand there was never going to be virtual viewings, ever. It just wasn’t ever going to happen. And they hugely accelerated for obvious reasons during Covid, and what is about to happen is a massive move back to physical viewings. But I don’t think virtual viewings will ever disappear because, for me, estate agency has always been fundamentally inefficient.”

Dearsley believes technology such as virtual viewings is increasing the efficiency and choice for both the agency and its customers. “Now, rather than only having physical viewings, you are able to facilitate virtual viewings to make the search more refined for your customer and save both you and the customer time to prioritise the properties they would like to see.”

He adds, “People think technology is disruptive. Quite often it is purely functional, and a classic example of that, particularly in conveyancing, is digital signatory – it’s been around for years but it’s only now it’s had that need within the sector, and it’s not going to go away.”

Convincing the Luddites

He predicts there will be many who will resist change. “We are still at the very, very early stages of change, and in a lot of cases change is often hindered by two core factors: the first is a sociological impact, which is that people don’t necessarily want to change – they are quite happy with the status quo, because the processes do work, they are perhaps just not as efficient and quick as they could be. It’s that classic case of, ‘If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’.

“The second barrier is legislative. Technology is often forcing the issue of change when there are legislative barriers – I think that is particularly important when it comes to compliance and conveyancing issues.”

Dearsley admits not all technology-driven changes are necessarily a good thing. “There will always be opportunities [for new technology] – as legislation changes, as the market shifts – and it’s just coming back to the fundamental principle of what is your customer demanding and have you got a genuine problem you are trying to solve, or are you just trying to be a tech savvy agent for the sake of it.”

He concludes: “Digital transformation is never a quick thing, never an easy thing. You will get people who will force legislative change but it doesn’t instigate true change until the entire industry goes through that generational shift and either accepts change or is forced to because of something like Covid.”

Proptech directory

The Neg’s listing of leading property technology companies with agent-focused products – here…

The post How proptech is changing estate agency appeared first on The Negotiator.

Now imagine yourself as a ‘virtual’ agent – another avatar – showing your clients around that same house, explaining the selling points in more detail. It certainly beats pounding the beat on a rainy Monday afternoon.

CGI technology

The interior of a building can be entirely created using DCTR.

Welcome to the brave new world of property sales, where CGI is the smart new kid on the block. The technology that has revolutionised movie-making is one of several new approaches borne out of the pandemic that are revolutionising the way property is sold. Of course, 99 per cent of buyers will still want to make a physical viewing before making what will be the biggest financial commitment of their lives.

But virtual viewings, whatever form they take, are helping agents sell more homes by eliminating tyre-kickers and providing a supply of potential buyers who have effectively pre-qualified themselves – because they, in turn, have been able to quickly and easily rule out unsuitable properties. One of the leading proponents of CGI is DCTR, formerly Dr Photo.

Like playing a game

“It’s a bit like playing a game – unlike camera-based tours, this has free movement – you can actually walk around it as if it were a game and interact with it,” says director Tom Durrant.

A 360-degree tour with a camera might look like the lower deck of Noah’s Ark, but we could completely CGI that to show its potential. Tom Durrant, DCTR.

“For example, you could change the colours of the walls or the work surfaces in the kitchen – so if a developer had different specifications for a property, the user can change all the different materials.” While DCTR’s main business is with off-plan developments, it can also be used with pre-built properties.

“If a property had a lot of potential, if you were to create a 360-degree tour with a camera it might look like the lower deck of Noah’s Ark, but we could completely CGI that to show its potential,” he explains.

“We developed this during the pandemic to solve a need. We felt that the consumer, over the course of this horrible 12 months, got a lot more savvy about virtual tours and there is an expectation of what this kind of marketing is about – it’s raised the bar.”

However, Durrant still feels there is a place for traditional photography. “If you think of the journey, the first thing they are going to see on Rightmove is the photo, and that’s got to capture their eye and their imagination. I think 360-degree tours are really great for the next stage of the journey.”

Transformational change

Another company that’s gone heavily into CGI property tours is Revvis Group.

“I think ultimately it will be a transformational change,” says director Nigel O’Connell. “The biggest impact in our life is the availability of time. The necessity of viewing a property in person will always remain the same but virtual viewings give buyer the opportunity to make more informed decisions about where they are going to apportion their time.

In the new-build sector a lot of vendors are shifting away from a homogenous product where all the properties have one fit-out and are starting to offer more choice. Nigel O’Connell, Director, Revvis.

“Whereas in the old days the agent would say, ‘I’ve five in your budget, let’s go and see them’, people don’t want to do that any more. Virtual viewings are enabling them to assess a property in greater detail, and decide whether they would like to view them or not.”

O’Connell agrees with Durrant that the pandemic has had a huge impact on the growth of virtual tours. “It was a growing sector before Covid happened but Covid has accelerated it greatly because of necessity – it was the only way people were able to look at properties during the initial lockdown.”

Revvis uses real-time rendering and claims to have the highest level of customisation in the UK, with users able to redesign a room using simple drag-and-drop techniques.

“What we offer is not only being able to virtually view a property, but also being able to change and reconfigure any element of the property – the flooring, the colour of the walls, refit a new bathroom or kitchen –you can do that while you are undertaking the viewing and see those changes in real time,” he explains.

“What we are finding is that in the newbuild sector a lot of vendors are shifting away from a homogenous product where all the properties have the one fit-out and are starting to offer more choice – whether it be four or five different kitchen choices, bathrooms, whatever it may be, the buyer can be shown as they ware walking down what the different finishes will look like.”

O’Connell also believes there is scope for using CGI to market existing homes, as well as new developments.

“Agents who are dealing with empty property can virtually stage it to showcase what it could look like, or agents trying to sell a property that is slightly quirky can communicate not just how the space is, but how the space could be.”

CGI from Revvis can be used to market existing homes as well as new developments.

Slick virtual tour

For many, however, the 360-degree photographic tour is the biggest winner from Covid restrictions, with Giraffe360 leading the charge. Giraffe’s high-end 3D cameras are supplied as part of the subscription package, and all the agent has to do is take one photo in each room and send the results to Giraffe, which stitches them together into one slick virtual tour that works rather like Google’s Streetview.

Giraffe’s founder, Mikus Opelts, came up with the concept when looking for offices for his company, which at that time was putting together virtual tours for hotels.

Last year we had clients who sold more property using remote viewing guided VR tours like that than using regular viewings – efficiency went up significantly. Mikus Opelts, Founder, Giraffe360.

It was that all-too-familiar feeling we have all experienced when viewing a property as a potential buyer: you instantly know it’s not right for you, but you have to go through the motions and feign interest anyway. Visiting one potential office, “within the blink of an eye I knew but was not for me but I needed to spend about five minutes browsing around looking in rooms trying to look interested”, Opelts recalls. “I thought, ‘This is broken, there has to be a better way’.”

Remote guided tours

Giraffe is now one of the market leaders, combining the 360-degree camera with laser-activated LiDAR (light detection and ranging) technology that not only creates a virtual tour, but also generates an accurate floorplan.

Again, the restrictions of 2020 saw a boom in business for both Opelts and his customers. Where the virtual tour had been an add-on to the floorplan offering, it became the main attraction – with agents even able to offer remote guided tours to potential buyers using Zoom and Teams.

“That was the killer function that enabled a lot of deals,” adds Opelts. “Last year we had clients who sold more property using remote viewing guided VR tours like that than using regular viewings, and efficiency went up significantly.”

He says Giraffe is all about content and presentation using professional-looking photography. “We’ve been a step ahead in what’s needed because we’ve packaged everything into one technology and one system because we felt that was what would be needed,” he adds.

LiDAR technology

With LiDAR now appearing in Apple’s top of the range iPhone 12 Pro Max and iPad Pro (though not currently any Android phones), it brings the affordability threshold to DIY floorplans much closer for those agents looking to save cash.

Metropix founder Max Christian has now set up a new business called RoomScan LiDAR. Using its software and an iPhone or iPad, agents can easily generate a floorplan themselves, as he explains. “There has always been a certain pfaff factor in drawing floorplans and what is really important is to apply this new tech to creating accurate floorplans really accurately, really quickly and really cheaply.”

The LiDAR sensors in phones have made it possible to get accurate floorplans in a jiffy. You don’t need handheld lasers any more – you just tap on walls on your screen. Max Christian, Founder, RoomScan LiDAR.

“The LIDAR sensors in phones have made it possible to get accurate floorplans in a jiffy. You don’t need handheld lasers any more. You just tap, tap on the walls on your screen and you’ve got the floorplan, with measurements you can trust.

“You go through room by room and the floorplan is immediately available – it doesn’t need processing by some behind-the-scenes team.” RoomScan doesn’t currently offer 360º tours as part of the package, but it’s on their roadmap.

Floorplans

Floorplans are still very much the staple of property listings, and long-time player in this field PlanUp has now enhanced its product to include photo plans.

“Once you have a floorplan we have a link that opens up a web page that shows that floorplan. They can then click and drag a hotspot onto the plan and attach a photo – it only takes five minutes,” says key accounts manager Steven Flatman.

“You’re almost committing commercial suicide by not having a floorplan on your listing – they are super cheap, they don’t take long to create and everyone wants to see a floorplan on a listing.”

Flatman believes that however advanced virtual tours become, floorplans will always have a place. “A 2D plan view of the property when buying or selling is just as important as a blueprint when you are building a house,” he stresses.

He also warns that while he thinks agents are now almost forced to include virtual tours to appeal to vendors, there can be drawbacks of offering them to early in the home-buying journey.

“You may be looking at a property as a potential buyer and you’ve got a virtual tour, and straight away you might realise it’s not for you – whereas a floorplan may not show that particular aspect that makes you initially shy away from the property,” he says.

The year of the pandemic has seen many seismic shifts in the way we do business, with the collapse of high street retailing the most glaring example.

Will these new virtual technologies transform the property industry to the same degree, or are they a passing fad? No-one can be sure, but few seem to think it will be business as usual when the pandemic finally peters out.

Guided tours

Nichecom’s GotoView has allowed buyers to whittle down their shortlist at home

Another company offering guided virtual tours is FocalAgent. Its 360° Matterport-powered viewing platform keeps the agent in the driving seat, enabling them to host a guided tour, answer any questions and switch seamlessly between properties.

Lee Wainwright, CEO of FocalAgent, says going virtual offers considerable time savings for agents, who are able to filter out all but the most serious parties without leaving their desk.

Agents were conducting up to eight viewings an hour with the technology and seeing a third drop in the number of viewings undertaken before an offer was received. Lee Wainwright, CEO FocalAgent.

The pandemic offered a unique opportunity to prove to agents how virtual viewings could transform their businesses.

FocalAgent teamed up with Zoopla last autumn to give selected agents free access to its FocalViewing platform.

“The partnership was a tremendous success,” explains Wainwright. “Research showed that Zoopla agents were conducting up to eight viewings an hour with the technology and seeing a one-third drop in the number of viewings undertaken before an offer was received.”

Wainwright says virtual viewings make it easier for a higher number of people to view a property, which in turn increases the likelihood of a sale or let. “This represents a significant step forward for the customer and the agent, making it easier to narrow down a list of properties, reduce time-consuming in-person viewings and focus on what agents do best – selling and letting homes,” he adds.

Video-call technology

NicheCom’s accompanied virtual viewings have also enabled agents to present a property to prospective buyers via an immersive Matterport 3D walkthrough, using video-call technology.

Buyers have been able to home in on all the details, ask all the usual questions and build a rapport with agents without the need for a physical visit.

Peter Burnham, Managing Director of NicheCom, says regular users of its GotoView platform say the technology has revolutionised the way they do business.

“Agents have discovered GotoView offers an extremely convenient way of carrying out first viewings and plan to continue using it even once restrictions have been lifted,” he explains.

Davis Tate in Pangbourne has reported saving over 600 hours of wasted travel time just in the first quarter. It has been a big hit with buyers, vendors and tenants. Peter Burnham, MD Nichecom.

“Davis Tate in Pangbourne has reported saving over 600 hours of wasted travel time just in the first quarter of this year, and Curchods in Surrey has managed to sell some extremely expensive properties before a physical visit has taken place.”

He adds that the message “coming through loud and clear” is that GotoView has improved productivity.

“It has been a big hit with buyers, vendors and tenants and is giving agents the edge when it comes to winning instructions.”

Burnham says Matterport’s 3D showcase with video-call functionality most closely replicates the physical viewing experience, allowing agents to guide potential buyers around a property, showing them every aspect of the rooms in high definition.

After a viewing, they can revisit the viewing as often as they like – there is even a measuring-up tool.

“Viewers are able to carry out first viewings without all the wasted travel time, quickly whittling down a shortlist from the comfort of their home,” he says.

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Professor Richard Kingston

When true 5G connectivity arrives, the amount of data devices will be able to transmit and receive will increase massively – potentially one hundred-fold. When will it arrive? It is hard to predict accurately, and it will be a staged process across the UK. The Government is currently working towards a target of ensuring that the “majority” of the country can access 5G coverage by 2027. To achieve this goal, the National Infrastructure and Construction Pipeline project was launched in 2018, with significant investment thrown behind it. Over the coming decade, then, we are to see a notable step change in the vast and varied world of ‘digital disruption’. On the one hand, consumers will be able to enjoy seamless streaming, downloading, and browsing from anywhere they wish. On the other hand – and of greater importance – industries will be transformed by the combination of 5G and the Internet of Things (IoT).

Industries will be transformed by the combination of 5G and the Internet of Things.

In the world of real estate, one of the most interesting developments to monitor will be how the arrival of 5G takes us closer towards the introduction of the so-called ‘smart city’; changing the way we live and work entirely.

The Internet of Things and smart cities

Like all truly revolutionary technologies – such as the internet, computers and internal combustion engines – the promise of 5G lies more in what can be accomplished through it, rather than the technology itself. To put 5G into perspective, it promises mobile internet speeds of 10 gigabits per second – that is 10,000 megabits per second. We are currently enjoying broadband speeds of between 30 and 300 megabits per second, in areas with fibre cable. This means the amount of data that can be sent and received between IoT devices (objects containing sensors that are able to communicate with one another) will increase markedly.

Last year, technology analysts IDC predicted that there will be over 41 billion IoT-connected devices across the world by 2025. This incredible level of interconnectedness via faster, more reliable internet connections will lay the foundations for the smart city.

Fundamentally, a smart city is an urban environment able to use technology to operate in a more efficient manner. Through vast amounts of data, thousands of small sensors, and the occasional human input; cities can begin actively working to make our lives more convenient. From automatically dimming streetlights to congestion-sensitive traffic lights, it is hard to understate the immense change cities may experience once this technology is fully rolled-out. Whether lowering carbon emissions, fighting crime, or saving money, and incentivising community behaviour, smart cities could allow us to live easier, more fulfilling lives.

Potential in the property sector

Property developers today will undoubtedly have to consider the role of 5G and IoT when erecting new buildings. It seems clear that new properties ought to be compatible with this new tele-connected world that, although already here, is likely to become far more sophisticated in the coming years. For example, residential or commercial buildings will need to be equipped with in-built sensors across different rooms and areas. This will enable the building to learn about its own spaces and how they are being used, thereby allowing it to adapt to the resident’s preferences.

Features such as automatic lighting fixtures that can adjust themselves based on room occupancy, or air conditioning that can do the same, will allow buildings, like smart cities more generally, to actively learn how best to cater to those who reside within them. This is especially prescient as COVID-19 forcibly brings us into a new age of homeworking. Looking ahead, many organisations will likely now operate via a hybrid-structure of half in-office and half at-home work. To help with this transition, desks equipped with sensors to report on whether or not they are being used will allow employers to see what space available, and what space is actually needed.

Properties of the future will be active participants in our lives, rather than just places to live and work. The task for professionals across the real estate sector, then, is to identify how this will become a reality and how to remain one step ahead of competitors as it approaches.

Richard Kingston is a Professor of Urban Planning and GISc at the University of Manchester. The University is current accepting applicants for its blended online MSc Real Estate course. Covering valuations and appraisals, development, management, and investment, and future cities the two-year Masters is designed to help people get into and move up within the world of real estate, providing students with an in-depth understanding of how the sector functions and the fundamentals that govern it.

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Max Christian, a founder of Metropix, has launched ‘RoomScan LiDAR’, which uses the lasers found in the latest iPad Pro to measure rooms with even greater accuracy.

Agents can add photographs, spoken notes and comments to the resulting floor plan, which displays the room dimensions in imperial and metric. These can be exported in a range of industry software formats, and instantly uploaded to the web as 2D floor plans and 3D models.

Max says, “The new quick and easy app is a further step up from anything currently on the market. Using the iPad Pro’s improved scanners we can measure a room in seconds, add doors and windows, and link rooms together with just a few taps of the screen.”

Richard Whitehurst is Business Development Director at Locometric, which has developed the app, said, “Having worked in the lettings business, I was desperate for a quick and simple solution to generate floor plans on the spot while out meeting landlords. I wish I’d had this at the time.”

The LiDAR laser scanners that the app uses are currently found in the latest iPad Pro, launched in March 2020. The next-generation iPhone, due in late 2020, is expected to feature the same technology.

www.locometric.com

RoomScan LiDAR is available from Locometric for £16.50 per month plus VAT. For more information contact richard@locometric.com 07776 187519 / 020 8720 9222.

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