Over the last two years, the COVID-19 pandemic has continued to accelerate the digitization of the real estate transaction. Whether it’s closing on a new home or beginning the search process, homebuyers—especially the emerging millennial generation—expect to be able to digitally transact with trust, transparency, speed, ease and convenience.
Real estate firms know that investing in technology is critical, but it is also a challenge. Keeping up with technology is one of the biggest problems facing real estate agents and brokerages. They are challenged by an overwhelming number of choices and technology options, yet many solutions are disjointed and the technology antiquated. Many agents and brokers use 10 or more individual solutions, requiring them to manage their relationships in a highly fragmented and frustrating way.
Looking through the lens of a homebuyer or real estate agent, the real estate transaction is cumbersome, slow and manual. A few of these pain points include:
- Speed of the transaction: The time from contract to close has remained the same for many years.
- Communication and sharing of information: There is a need for better integration between platforms to improve communication and sharing of documents between the brokerage, lender and closing company, each of which has their own process and technology.
- Home search: The typical home search experience is limited to a few basic categories like a home’s square footage or number of bedrooms, leaving out a treasure trove of valuable information buyers are interested in, like property condition, flooring, countertops and lighting.
- Closing: The closing process can be very stressful for homebuyers, often because they do not understand the process, what they are paying for or what is expected of them.
There is an opportunity to improve the experience for both homebuyers and agents by making the transaction more seamless and transparent across the board. From the moment a homebuyer begins their search online to the moment they have the keys in hand, there are touchpoints along the customer journey that technology can help optimize. What is most important, however, is to view the entire real estate transaction from a holistic perspective from search to close. Rather than considering the steps of search, financing, title and closing separately, we must consider them all as a unified experience for the homebuyer.
Homegenius is focused on improving the buying and selling experience and enabling real estate agents to be the smartest people in the room while maximizing their productivity. Our solutions are powered by big data, proprietary analytics and technology, including AI and machine learning, which will take homebuyers and agents from search to close with intelligence, clarity, speed and simplicity.
Visit https://homegenius.com to learn more about the homegenius ecosystem and the new digital frontier we are forging.
