Using Property Data to Enhance the Client's Experience
It's no secret that consumers are facing major struggles in the real estate market today. Housing inventory is low, while home prices and interest rates are high. It's no wonder that so many would-be buyers and sellers are hesitant to enter the market today.
Unfortunately, when consumers struggle with the real estate market, that means that real estate professionals do as well. However, MLSs offer a tool that can empower their members to help consumers feel more comfortable buying or selling a home. Today, we'll explore how property data software can assist real estate professionals in enhancing their clients' experiences.
Telling stories with data
"Providing thoughtful data unique to each client's needs is a surefire way to not only establish trust, but to facilitate and expedite informed decision-making that leads to success for all stakeholders involved in a real estate transaction," said Sara Cooper, Executive Vice President, Real Estate Market at CRS Data.
Thoughtful data is what's key here. A list of property facts and figures is not enough to convince consumers who may still be on the fence. To be effective, data needs to tell consumers a story about a property or neighborhood.
"Real estate professionals can use the data they gather through CRS Data to tell a story, helping them to effectively communicate insights with their clients that are easy to understand," said Cooper. "CRS Data offers users multiple ways to compile reports with multiple data sets that are easy to interpret for both real estate professionals and their clients."
For clients with school-aged children, one crucial data set is school zone information. This data helps buyers understand whether a) a home is in a good school district, a major driver of positive, long-term property values, and b) whether their children will have to transfer schools if the family moves to the property.
For sellers, school zone information can assist in communicating the value of a home, especially when the home is in a well-rated district. CRS Data users can easily include this information with a CMA, or with listing and buyer presentations.
Sometimes the stories that data helps tell need to be in a different language. For those clients whose first language is Spanish, or who are simply more comfortable in the language, CRS Data offers bilingual reporting options.
Zeroing in on the perfect sale
Real estate buyers may have a vision of their ideal home that's more specific than the number of beds and baths. Maybe they want a property with a pool, or on one acre, or within a certain ZIP code. CRS Data offers advanced search capabilities that help agents drill down on these types of property details so they can help their clients be well-informed about the home they want to buy.
"Buyers generally have an idea of where they want to live, but real estate professionals can use our data to help guide that process and even introduce clients to different areas," said Cooper. "CRS Data offers insights into home value trajectories, school zone information and flood zone data, which give home buyers and sellers the context and the peace of mind they need surrounding a given area or particular property, which can speed up the decision-making process."
Sellers, on the other hand, may want to see area sales trends, says Cooper. "With CRS Data, real estate professionals can show their clients recent sales transactions and even compile an area sales trend report that details the number of homes sold in a given area, as well as the percentage of price increase or decrease."
That data may be helpful to buyers, too, according to Cooper. "This type of information may provide more confidence to buyers once they are able to see the full picture of real estate in the area they wish to buy, rather than just data on one particular home."
Whether real estate professionals are serving buyers or sellers, property data can help to ensure that their clients' experience is as smooth as possible.
To learn more about CRS Data, visit CRSData.com.
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The Future of Agent Safety: A Conversation with Carl Carter, Jr.
September is Realtor Safety Month, but agent safety should be a consideration all year round. According to the National Association of REALTORS, over 40% of real estate agents have experienced a situation that made them feel unsafe, most often during showings or when meeting a client at a property for the first time (2021 Member Safety Report).
In an interview with Carl Carter, Jr., REALTOR® and founder of the Beverly Carter Foundation, he echoed need for ongoing awareness and safety protocols for those in the real estate industry.
Carl started the Beverly Carter Foundation in January 2017 in response to the tragic death of his mother, Beverly Carter, a REALTOR® on September 25, 2014.
"My mother was besieged by two people posing as clients who lured her to a property with the intention of kidnapping her and holding her for ransom because they perceived her to be this wealthy real estate professional," said Carter. "When their plan didn't go as they thought that it would, they made the tragic, awful decision to end her life."
"Her story brought a national lens to the issue of agent safety. I began speaking out as a son who loved his mother and received such an outpouring of support," said Carter. "During this time, so many also shared their own stories [that] they, or someone they knew, had been victimized while working in real estate. And it's all not just these horrific homicides and crimes. The victimization is all across the board. We frequently hear about things being stolen at open houses, but I most often hear about crimes against female agents by men who make unwanted advances." Additionally, increases in online harassment and online stalking are on the rise due to real estate agents being such public salespeople. "This career lends itself to those types of behaviors, unfortunately," said Carter.
The foundation is solely dedicated to agent awareness of the dangers that exist in industries such as the real estate business, where people are working alone. "We see shifts in the way people are victimized," remarked Carter. Changes in technology and the way people interact now has shifted and, with it, more and more interactions happening online has made it easier for harassment to take place. "Unfortunately, I would love to say that we are close to mission accomplished, but I think we still have our work cut out for us to help make the industry a safer place," said Carter.
Understanding the need to take steps to protect yourself both inside and outside of the work environment is pivotal for staying safe. "The industry has done a pretty good job of addressing the issue of safety," said Carter, "but I feel we have a long way to go to ensure agents stay safe and don't let their guard down. I think we need to continue to raise awareness about safety issue and make sure that everyone, Realtors and the general public, are aware of the risks involved in our job. Additionally, associations can assist members through keeping this issue at the forefront and not just highlighting during the month of September."
From our conversation with Carter, SentriLock has outlined a number of tips that Realtors can follow (and MLSs and associations can share) to keep themselves safe and avoid becoming the victim of a crime:
When first meeting with a client, have that meeting in a public place and avoid secluded areas.
Stop working with strangers. Before you have any business dealings, show a property, list a property, before you are alone with someone, be sure to strip away that anonymity. Apps such as FOREWARN allow you to do a background check, giving you information prior to face-to-face meeting.
Ensure your technology is updated and use it. The SentriKey® Real Estate app provides agents with a feature that will automatically and discreetly alert an emergency contact when they do not feel safe or if the contact cannot confirm an agent's safety.
Wherever possible, do not work alone, particularly during open houses where you are vulnerable to strangers.
Do a pulse check on your online space. Agents are public figures, and frequently their online activity is 100% public. It is easy to lose sight of the fact that anyone can see those posts about a new car, vacation, etc., framing people's perceptions, which could lead to an agent being victimized.
Be sure someone knows your schedule and locations and check in frequently.
Follow your instincts. If the situation feels uncomfortable or you are fearful, leave or reach out to your emergency contact.
Use tools and apps where you know your data and your client data is secure. With SentriLock, you can be assured that your private data is never shared or used.
Have a plan for what to do if something goes wrong.
While Carter sees immense progress being made in the industry, he feels there is always more that can be done. Agent safety is an important consideration that should be taken all year round. By taking some simple precautions cautions and using tools, agents can help keep themselves safe while working in any environment.
To view the original article, visit the SentriLock blog.
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[WATCH] Capitalism 2.0: The next generation of real estate success with web3, NFTs and the Metaverse
There's a technology revolution happening called web3. The pioneers of this movement are creating massive online communities selling digital land, digital properties, and even digital rentals. Fueled by $3 trillion in cryptocurrency wealth, there is a brand-new set of buyers for a brand new type of real estate available. High net-worth individuals and companies are engaging in NFTs and cryptocurrency as a hedge that benefits tax strategy and currency fluctuations, too. Others are reinventing business operations in the metaverse.
Posted below is the recent discussion hosted by WAV Group managing partners Victor Lund and Marilyn Wilson along with Nelson Diaz, the company's web3 division leader, explaining why you don't want to miss out on the opportunities that lie ahead.
Enjoy!
To view the original article, visit the WAV Group blog.
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CoreLogic and Homesnap Join Forces on Integrations to Matrix
CoreLogic announced that it has entered into an agreement with Homesnap, provider of the top-rated agent mobile productivity platform, to offer their mutual CoreLogic and Homesnap customers advanced integrations.
These integrations between Matrix, CoreLogic's multiple listing software system, and Homesnap Pro will include full synchronization of contacts, prospects, saved searches and favorites between the two platforms, edit listing functionality, and ultimately, the ability to add a new listing.
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New to Real Estate? 5 Great Ideas to Let People Know
Please, please, please! Can we do away, once and for all, with the dorky new agent announcement card, letter or whatever else that agents use to announce their exciting venture into real estate?!
Here's a typical letter:
"Dear Friend, I'm pleased to announce...blah, blah, blah...my company is great...blah, blah, blah...I promise to provide the highest level of service...blah, blah, blah...please send me referrals. Love, Me"
Nice, but so what?
First, if you are new in the business, I strongly urge you not to announce this fact to the world. Sending out an announcement from your real estate contact management system that you JUST got your real estate license and are looking for business won't give anyone much motivation to call you. Okay, well, maybe your mother and your Aunt Lou, but no one else.
I'd rather you approach your "announcement" a little more casually. Just slide into "being in real estate." Don't make a big deal that you Just Got Your Real Estate License and are Looking for Business. No, simply start communicating with people you know and "reminding" them that you're in real estate.
Most of those on your SOI list haven't been keeping track of your every movement (sorry), so if you're suddenly in real estate, they won't think twice about it, probably. They might even think they forgot that you were a real estate agent! And that's fine.
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Your Reputation: To Be Shared Online?
Consumers today are demanding more and more transparency in every purchase they make. They solicit input from fellow customers about everything from digital cameras to books to doctors. They look to sites like CNET for objective ratings on electronics and they look to sites like findadoctor.com and lawyerratingz.com to learn about the training, reputation and customer satisfaction levels of professionals like doctors and lawyers.
This paper will show real estate agents how they can take advantage of this consumer trend to grow their business. It will help agents understand why consumers want more information about the reputations of real estate agents online. It will also show how fellow REALTORS® have capitalized on this strong consumer need to grow their business.
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World Series of Wireless
When I was a young boy, I would practice throwing and catching against the wall of our boathouse. My parents grew to love watching me out the window of our living room, and even grew to love the hours of thump, thump, thump as the ball ricocheted off the wooden wall. I do not recall my age when all of that ended, but it did, very abruptly. You see, as boys grow up, they get stronger and eventually, they can throw the ball hard enough to break the wood on the side of the house.
I will never forget that day. I was elated that I was strong enough to throw the ball hard enough to break the boathouse. My parents freaked out.
For years now we have been watching the growth of wireless adoption among consumers. Yesterday, I visited with the CEO of one of the largest MLS service providers in the United States. Eighty percent of his agents report that wireless MLS is "very important" to their business today. You do not need to be a rockstar consultant to understand that wireless is an important and core MLS service.
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MRIS Launches XactSite
MRIS has long offered premium products and services to their participants and subscribers. Below you will see the announcement of a new service of offering agent and broker website and IDX offerings. It looks to be a very complete solution that will cover the needs of the majority of their customers. You will also notice that they are rolling it out as they would any other MLS service - complete with localized information and training classes through collaboration with shareholder Associations of REALTORS.
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