Technology provides the way forward

A technical revolution has unequivocally transformed the property market. I highlight below the opportunities the new era brings and how agents should complement today’s technological tools.

What a difference 10 to 15 years has made to how residential properties are marketed. Buyers, vendors and agents now have a multitude of tools available to assist their property journey, such as Google Street View, property portal websites listing properties available globally, video tours and Land Registry data detailing every sold price. Not forgetting iPhone and iPad applications. However, selecting the most appropriate technology to market properties from the bewildering assortment available and using it wisely is an art in itself.

Twenty years ago, most estate agents used card boxes and all were situated on the High Street. Each hand written card detailed the contact details for a potential buyer and matching was done by hand, sometimes quite slowly and by staff situated in the office. Relevant property brochures were then posted first or second class.

Now, however, highly sophisticated cloud based software makes the property matching process and uploading to Rightmove & Zoopla virtually instantaneous. This pc based contact database system instantly identifies potential purchasers and emails the relevant property details to them within seconds.

Viewings can be set up within a matter of hours, propelling the whole selling process forwards. Human input, however, should not be underestimated. The best agents are equipped with the key communication skills and personal touch, vital in what could be an impersonal environment. Many property transactions are complex and the telephone is still the prime tool of the professional agent.

Many new websites which have the latest applications to facilitate finding that perfect property. However, ensuring that the best price is negotiated for the vendor is still the agent’s domain, and a careful approach should ensure that the buyer is so delighted with his or her purchase that the sale goes through trouble free. An agent’s communications skills are essential to each and every transaction.

Technological advancement means that sellers now have much more choice when selecting an agent. A pretty window on a local high street is no longer necessary. An agent with great local knowledge, a purchaser profile and a first class understanding of the new platforms available to market properties are critical.

Seventy per cent of households in the UK now have online access, that is over 18m households that can conduct a property search from the comfort of their own homes. I list properties on a number of communal websites that give vendors and purchasers a global audience. Rightmove, for example, is ranked in the top 10 most visited websites in the UK, ahead of giants such as Yahoo. This site attracts a staggering 40m users a month. Visits via such portals are often the start of highly effective emarketing,using that all-important contact database. At the touch of a button, hundreds of applicants can be emailed brochures, sent web links or given property updates.

Websites such as UpMyStreet.com offer a vast array of neighbourhood information including schools, crime statistics, historical house price data and even how many miles it is to the nearest train station, bus stop or shop. Google Earth was revolutionary for potential purchasers but Google Street View can now take a buyer right to the front of a home in which he or she is interested and move along and across the street to see the area surrounding the property. These devices have reduced viewing volumes but, happily, vendors now encounter more serious buyers at viewings as research on both the house and its area have usually been conducted from the comfort of the buyers’ homes.

So is it time for agents to hang up their boots? Far from it. The same, if not more, information needs to be compiled and must be delivered professionally, in a user friendly manner at speed.  Prime web listings are very costly for agents but vital; a huge proportion of the market exposure is lost without them.

As agents we cannot work miracles, particularly in a challenging market, but we need to know, and our clients need to be assured, that we have left no stone unturned.