The majority of Americans have limited experience when it comes to buying and selling homes. This is especially true for the younger generations of homebuyers in the United States. If real estate agents present virtual home shopping as an accepted method for selecting a home, buyers are less likely to question it and push back. If enough agents transition to virtual applications, we can expect to see a shift from traditional real estate practices over the next few years. Not only is the modern-day approach to real estate safer and easier for clients, but it also allows agents to conduct more business in the same amount of time.
The COVID-19 outbreak has many real estate companies transitioning over to digital technologies to connect with buyers and sellers. Virtual tours have been extremely popular over the last several weeks as an effective alternative to in person home showings. Virtual house tours are time savers, they help buyers narrow their search, and they support the concept of social distancing. Although they are not allowed in every state, we are seeing more real estate agents use e-notarizations to conduct virtual closings as well.
The professionals in the real estate community whose average age is above 50 need to adjust to these new practices. The agents that take a progressive approach will reap incredible rewards and ones that don’t will be left behind as we have seen before. For years, there were many agents who did not want to put their email address on their business cards, couldn’t fathom why they would ever need a professional website, and fought against the idea of social media. Today, those agents who resist change will miss an opportunity to grow their business.
The real estate agents who embrace change will spend less time sitting in traffic, land more sales, and have greater job satisfaction. Change is inevitable within the real estate industry and these agents ahead of the curve will also be better positioned to embrace future changes as well.
