Reasons Why Multilingual Real Estate Agents Secure More Deals

A new report revealed that to close more deals, real estate agents are wielding a new secret weapon: The ability to speak other languages.

According online real estate data provider that offers multiple listing services Trulia, only 15 percent of real estate agents could speak another language. Chen noted that those who are multilingualclaim it gives them an edge over other agents.   

“There are many American buyers who might prefer to work with an agent who speaks languages in addition to English,” Trulia chief economist Jed Kolko told Chen.

According to Trulia, the most commonly used language in the business after English is Spanish with 12.2 percent of agents speaking it, followed by French standing at 2.5 percent, then Russian, Mandarin, and German.

The Journal stated that Armenian and Korean were also commonly spoken in Los Angeles. Greek and Polish topped the list in Chicago.

According to the multilingual agents interviewed in the report, speaking in the buyer’s native tongue could bridge communication gaps, smoothen transactions, help ease the buyer’s fears, and make them feel “more comfortable” and “understood.”

The study advises agents to brush up on their language skills, given that foreign buyers are piling on U.S. properties.

In a report, the National Association of Realtors revealed earlier this month that between April 2013 and March 2014, foreign buyers bought an estimated $92.2 billion of U.S. real estate, up from $68.2 billion during the previous year.

NAR also revealed in its 2014 Profile of International Home Buying Activity report that international buyers and new immigrants bought the most properties located in Florida, California, Arizona and Texas. The said states accounted for 55 percent of the total transactions.

Learning a new language could take time, and may not be as useful for agents without marketing savvy or the right marketing tools to tap into the country's growing pool of foreign buyers. One technology, however, that levels the playing field for real estate agents is RealBiz Media Group, Inc.’s RBIZMicrovideo App platform.

RealBiz Media’s Microvideo App platform allows agents to create video-centric microsites where they can post virtual tours and informative videos (created through built-in tools in the platform), blogs, property listings, and community events. These posts can be syndicated to social media sites to reach more potential home buyers

RealBiz Media is a publicly traded company. Its stocks reached $0.18 on Thursday, up by 12.50 percent from its previous close. 

According to a Seeking Alpha analysis, RealBiz is bound to earn $4.5 million in upcoming months, with a recurring profit of $471,000, due to its recent transition from “development to marketplace.”

In recent news, the company just signed up the Greater Fort Lauderdale Realtors (GFLR) as a new client.