ERA Survey Identifies Areas for Improvement in Real Estate

A new survey conducted by property franchiser ERA Real Estate said that while online apps and technologies have made home shopping easier and more convenient for consumers, they do not often lead to home purchases, the company said in a statement.

ERA’s REAL Insights survey showed that “a technology blind spot is” sprouting in the sector as vendors augment their efforts in developing new online tech platforms to please consumers. The survey found that according to brokers, consumers favor flexible scheduling and face-to-face meetings, aside from “technology-enabled communication.”

The survey added that consumer confidence was high among participants at the beginning of their home search, “with 84 percent of respondents feeling confident about the process.”

As they go on, 43 percent of the participants claimed they “struggled with lack of market knowledge and not understanding the process.” 91 percent of the participants saw meeting with a sales rep crucial to close the said information gap.

“While our survey revealed that real estate professionals have expanded their communication channels and adopted an ‘always-on’ mentality to meet the changing consumer demands growing out of a technology-enabled shopping landscape, once consumers enter the buying phase of the transaction, they realize the benefit of the personal, face-to-face service a sales professional can provide to ensure a smooth transaction process,” Charlie Young, president and CEO of ERA Real Estate, said in the statement.

“This technology 'blind spot' is perpetuated by the ‘swipe and go’ coffee experience, but as we all know, buying a home is far more involved,” Young said. “The good news is that today's homebuyers and sellers can access a wealth of information from a variety of platforms, whether that be desktop, mobile or tablet.  In this technology-assisted environment, well-informed consumers are collaborating with experienced sales associates to work together in achieving the dream of home ownership.”

The survey was commissioned by ERA from Google Consumer Surveys and it involved 1,000 consumers between the ages of 18 and 64.

For most real estate agents, nothing beats face-to-face interactions to make a sale. But that can only happen if consumers find them—and their online persona—credible.

To be able to build their consumers’ trust, realtors have to establish a solid reputation for themselves. They should also have an impressive portfolio to show clients.

Realtors looking to develop their branding and reputation can use disruptive digital technologies developed by Realbiz Media Group, Inc. RBIZ. Realbiz Media is a Florida-based digital media company that develops proprietary video marketing software that agents and their brokers can use to promote their virtual tour listings online.

Realtors can make use of the company’s listing platform Nestbuilder.com, which makes a great platform for hosting their virtual tour listings and personalized agent profiles, as they build their network. Moreover, Nestbuilder.com’s agent and listing pages feature a contact form and social media buttons which allow agents to connect with consumers easily. Nestbuilder.com is a consumer site based on Realbiz Media’s patented marketing technology Nestbuilder Agent.

Realbiz Media’s platforms, applications and web sites feature social integration, which allow agents to cross-publish their posts to social networks like Twitter, Facebook, and Pinterest.

To learn more about Realbiz Media and its products, contact sales@realbizmediagroup.com or call 1.888.REAL.BIZ (888.732.5249).