In today’s hyper-connected world, staying ahead of the competition in any industry has something to do with proactively embracing digital technology. For the real estate industry, leveraging the power of certain software can mean the difference between success and failure in capturing significant market share and satisfying customer needs.
Whether you’re a seasoned agent, a landlord, a property developer, or an investor, a real estate software development company has digital solutions for buying, selling, renting, and managing properties. According to research, the good news is that many real estate companies recognize that digital technology is at the heart of delivering excellent real estate services. How far have you gone in implementing digital solutions for your real estate business? This article might help you understand the role of custom software development in promoting your digital presence. Read on!
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What is Real Estate Software?
Real estate software is a type of software that provides tools and features for real estate professionals to manage their operations in the digital world. From customer relationship management (CRM) to marketing, accounting, and property listings and management, real estate software is designed to provide personalized digital solutions for the various aspects of the real estate industry. When it comes to selecting the right software, finding the Best CRM for Real Estate Investors can be a game-changer for efficient business management.
Types of Real Estate Software
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- CRM software: This software is designed for real estate agents and brokers to manage customer relationships. It helps them capture and organize client information and automate tasks like appointment scheduling and contract management. With the ability to segment clients based on specific criteria, the data generated from real estate CRM software can also be used as insights for creating marketing strategies, such as drip campaigns.
Propertybase is one of the most popular real estate CRM apps, as Salesforce, a leader in the CRM industry, powers it. You will also find popular ones Wise Agent, Freshsales, Pipedrive, and LionDesk.
- Virtual tour apps: Built with AR and VR capabilities, virtual tour apps for real estate is the solution for potential home buyers that want to explore properties remotely and experience immersive walkthroughs anywhere they are.
Virtual tour apps like EyeSpy360 enable agents and brokers to create and share virtual tours integrated with audio narrations. This provides detailed descriptions and helps to highlight key features in 360 files and 3D models.
- Accounting software: Accounting software for real estate offers a platform for transaction and contract management. That usually includes making and receiving online payments, filling out tax forms, generating financial reports, and tracking income and expenses. Xero and Quickbooks are popular examples that real estate professionals use to get the numbers right.
- Custom real estate software: Custom real estate software can combine any of the features in the aforementioned types of real estate software. What makes it different is that developers go out of their way to design the functionalities to fit the specific needs of real estate stakeholders
Creating custom real estate software makes every real estate functionality you need accessible on one app. For example, virtual tours, CRM, accounting, transaction management, analytics, and more can be integrated into a single app.
On the other hand, developers can create a single solution that addresses your USP as a real estate professional. An example of custom real estate software in this category is Yaxa, an iOS app for recording and sharing video home tours.
Benefits of Custom Real Estate Software
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- Opportunity to address peculiar challenges: With custom real estate software, there is room to add new features or functionalities as situations demand. Imagine a situation where the real estate market in your targeted areas experiences a significant shift, such as the emergence of a new regulatory requirement or a sudden change in buyer preferences. In such cases, custom real estate software development will allow you to be better prepared to meet the new market conditions instead of off-the-shelf solutions that are for general purposes.
- Right of Ownership: Providing services on your platform allows you to make improvements that suit your needs anytime. For example, you can implement a robust rights management system that ensures secure and transparent transactions, protecting the rights of both buyers and sellers.
- Competitive advantage: The saturated real estate market offers a great opportunity for businesses that adopt custom real estate websites or apps. It gives you the flexibility and agility to respond to market demands and seize opportunities as they come.
With custom software, real estate businesses can design their website structure in a way that is optimized for search engines. This includes implementing proper navigation, internal linking structures, and organizing content to rank higher and appear in search queries. There is also the unparallel flexibility of integrating the software with SEO tools and analytics.
Real Estate Software: Numbers & Trends
According to reports, the growth of real estate software experienced a decline during the Covid-19 pandemic, but it is currently on a steady upward trajectory again. In 2022, the global market size of real estate software was capped at $10.24 billion. It is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 12.8% in the next seven years. However, during this period and beyond, costly investments and training expenses for real estate professionals may pose challenges to market growth.
Out of all the various types of software, customer relationship management (CRM) software remains dominant in the real estate industry. In 2022, it took 27% of the market share. From industry analysis, this type of real estate software development is popular for its capabilities to integrate comprehensive marketing solutions for real estate firms. Aside from managing lead information, CRM software enables real estate firms to monitor and predict purchasing behavior and customer trends for a befitting marketing campaign.
Future of Real Estate
Source: jotform.com
Real estate firms worldwide are actively prioritizing the implementation of new technology solutions. In 2021, when a group of real estate leaders surveyed more than a hundred real estate stakeholders globally, they found that over 60% consider embracing technology as a “strategic priority”. This is not unconnected to the enormous benefits digital technology has brought to the real estate industry.
From gathering business intelligence to providing security in property management and enhancing customer experience, adopting new technology solutions such as AI, virtual, and augmented reality will continue to become essential for real estate firms worldwide. For instance, the VR market for real estate is expected to generate up to $2.6 billion in 2025.
Summary
One of the best ways to leverage digital technology for a competitive advantage is to opt for custom real estate software development. Why? It offers a highly specialized and customized solution that resolves a specific challenge faced by a real estate business. That, in many cases, surpasses the capabilities and limitations of off-the-shelf software.
