Why is IT Outsourcing Beneficial for Real Estate Companies?

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IT Outsourcing
Why is IT Outsourcing Beneficial for Real Estate Companies

Running a successful real estate company requires you to keep track of the innovation within the industry. In the era of digitalization, this would mean employing a rather crafty IT department. Now, the majority of real estate companies wouldn’t necessarily find this cost-effective, which is why they see IT outsourcing as a superior choice. With that in mind and without further ado, here’s why IT outsourcing is so beneficial in this industry.

Data Analysis

The first major advantage for you to gain when improving your company’s IT infrastructure is access to data analysis and big data. Never before was there so much data available. In order to access this data, store it, and process it in order to turn it into actionable information, you would need to have serious IT capabilities.

For instance, even by doing a simple survey of rivaling sites, you can get a real-time area price. You can then use this price to update your business. You can also project a future price change, which would allow you to stay ahead of the curve when compared to your competitors. Keep in mind that price swings are the biggest risk factor in the real estate industry. This way, you can mitigate the risk quite successfully.

Data insights regarding your buyers are just as important. By figuring out how many sites they checked out before coming to you, you can do a simple SEO audit and check your web presence. You can also check which of your marketing efforts gives the best results. Seeing as how you’ll be able to check which method generates the most leads.

Choosing the property that can make or break your business is one of the biggest decisions in this industry. With the right data analysis, you can get far more information for your decision-making process. This way, you can also get ahead of everyone else by getting information about a profitable investment before anyone else does.

Automation of Repetitive Tasks

While hiring an assistant is incredibly useful for a real estate agent. It might be even better to combine this with the automation of repetitive tasks via IT means. You see, the majority of real estate agents have relatively small in-house teams, which is why real estate outsourcing is an industry-standard. This way, optimal operational efficiency can be achieved.

Don’t get us wrong, real estate outreach should always be done by a human. Even with a circular email, customization and follow-up are incredibly important. Nothing drives potential partners away faster than the idea that there’s no human on the other end of the line. Still, when it comes to various bureaucratic tasks like filling out the paperwork for each home, this can really be automated in a rather simple manner.

Schedule keeping, real estate portfolio management, site upkeep, and even some optimization of your social media should all be handled by professionals. Now, don’t get us wrong. A lot of this falls under marketing and it would be irrational to expect your IT associates to handle it. However, ensuring that some of these specialist tools are performing admirably can become their responsibility and a task that they perform reasonably well.

Smart Homes

The most obvious reason why IT outsourcing can transform real estate companies is due to an ever-growing demand for smart homes. Security measures, entertainment systems, household appliances, and even lights are supervised by IT teams. Therefore, real estate agents looking to branch out into this market will have to find necessary IT support.

Keep in mind that the maintenance of these homes while looking for a buyer falls completely onto you. Tracking lighting systems, thermostats, outdoor sensors, smart locks, surveillance systems, and sensors is a 24/7 job.

While it is true that a lot of younger, tech-savvy buyers prefer to handle this on their own, when it comes to older buyers, want to be able to just move in. Therefore, all of the features we’ve listed (twice already) need to be pre-installed and ready for use. You should also not be surprised to learn that they want a crash course (a tutorial) for the task. IT experts should provide these.

Hyperlocalization

One of the biggest misconceptions regarding digital marketing and one’s online presence lies in the idea that it makes the whole world your market. If anything, it has made one’s local presence (via localization of marketing and local SEO) more important than it ever was before. You can use technology to bridge this gap.

Property owners, nowadays, are more estranged from real estate agents than ever before. Why? Well, because they can list their homes online directly or even complete the entire interaction with their agent of choice online. With the help of geolocation, this problem can be resolved much more effectively. The outreach can still be done the old-fashioned way, but a real estate market can now use these parameters (that are available online) to conduct better profiling of property owners and the local market.

With the help of a personal real estate management software solution, you can keep all this data in one place. It can be a sort of a personal app that the real estate agent can use in order to improve the effectiveness of their networking. With the help of cloud-based software, you can access all you need via any device.

The Future of Real Estate

It goes without saying that VR and AR might just transform the real estate industry as we know it. How? Well, from the buyer’s perspective, one of the most daunting tasks when buying a property is having to go and check it out in person. It’s not that they mind looking around the place. It’s the fact that they must:

  • Make a selection of homes that they’re supposed to visit. After all, they can’t go to every single potential property.
  • Visit a lot of properties before making a commitment. Sure, you can narrow down the list of suitable properties to a manageable number but you won’t buy the first place you see.

With the help of VR, people will be able to make virtual tours. Seeing a place via a website-uploaded photo is one thing. Being able to “walk around” the place is something else entirely. When it comes to this, VR is much more immersive. The most important thing you need to keep in mind is that this VR needs to have suitable support. Keeping an IT expert capable of handling this on a retainer would cost an arm and a leg. Even if you could afford it, it’s still likely that you’ll need a team.

When it comes to AR, it’s not as immersive as VR. However, it can be used in a completely innovative fashion. For instance, a person buying a home can get a chance to see what the place would look like after they make it move-in ready. Via an AR application, they can get a glimpse of the place after the flooring is changed or after the room is painted. Same as with VR, you need a team to support it.

In Conclusion

While every single industry seems to head for increased digitalization, with real estate, things seem to be moving at an increased pace. The average value of the product in the real estate industry is incredibly high. That is why it’s easier to justify higher investment in technology in order to get a slight competitive edge. Outsourcing your IT is one of the ways to get ahead.