The real estate process is broken, here is how to fix it

[Alex Tkachuk]

Much has been made of how millennials are changing how business is done across a variety of professions, and a great example of it is the real estate industry.

Millennials, for the most part, grew up entirely in the digital age, and because of that, they have different expectations of the home purchase process than their parents and grandparents did. They want things to happen quickly and have little patience for the slow, outdated processes that have largely made up the real estate process throughout previous generations.

As these demands increase, so does the pressure on real estate agents and brokers to perform at a quicker rate. The problem is the majority of the profession is still using antiquated software and technology that isn’t compatible or connected, and as a result, delays continue to be a problem. This leads to disgruntled agents and clients.

Brokers, especially those with a large number of agents on their teams, are having difficulty with communication as flexible work hours become more popular and digital platforms are used to provide updates and complete transactions. Email is often relied upon, but still difficult to track and stay on top of as inboxes get cluttered and days get busier. Time and capacity become real hindrances.

Lenders are an extension of the real estate team. If a broker is generating hundreds of leads every month and referring many of those to lender partners, it gets even more complex. Often times, there isn't a way to track things like appointments, pre-approval statuses, etc. The disconnect and constant communication barriers without an ability to have all of the information and updates in a single platform becomes hugely burdensome.

Agents spend their days accessing a variety of platforms to get their jobs done – whether it is the MLS, email, CRMs, transaction management platforms, market analysis software and more. All of this while trying to keep up regular communication with clients and providing updates to their lender and broker.

Meanwhile, the millennial buyer is waiting and expecting swiftness.

What does all of this mean? Well, it means that for the most part, the real estate process is broken as it is currently constructed, and sales pressures keep agents and lenders constantly stressed out. What needs to happen is for all of us to take a step back and look at the process and realize there needs to be another way.

Instead of being threatened by change, the real estate industry must accept that it has to happen for all of us to continue to thrive and grow as a profession. The right technology should be leveraged so that agents and lenders can begin proving their value to consumers by being faster. That can happen by using scalable tools that will set them apart.

Those tools should create the ability to manage an exclusive agent referral network, connect with lenders and follow the escrow process in one single platform, with one login. This technology needs to be all-encompassing when it comes to a real estate transaction so we aren't logging in and out of different platforms with a variety of usernames and passwords. This way, an entire real estate team can see exactly who is doing what and which milestones have been hit. All parties in the process should be able to see this information so everyone is on the same page.

The answer is pretty simple: We need to be able to manage, track and automate the end-to-end real estate transaction. We also need to agree that information siloes are bad for business and bad for the client.

So, to recap, meeting the demands of the modern homebuyer requires all of us to recognize there is a problem with how things have always been, accept that change is needed and seek out solutions that solve those problems.

I want to hear from you – are you experiencing these problems, and if so, are you doing anything to solve them?