Real Estate Investor Magazine South Africa October 2018 | Page 35

TECHNOLOGY
interaction with the seller and his product will become
more and more important as all facts and figures should be
available to the potential buyer online. Estate agents will
have to put more effort into qualifying the information on
the product that they offer online.  The more data that is
available, the better it is to capture a bigger audience; a quick
listing will no longer be sufficient and estate agents will have
to focus on better photos, better script and the ‘Full Monty’
on information of the property,” says Erasmus.
She believes that the entire real estate industry should
stand together to re-educate the home owner who is selling
their property.  “Buyers are tired of viewing one home, ten
times over on one portal.  While one of the ten adverts for
the same property may attract a potential buyer, it is five of
the other adverts that normally convince the buyer not to
continue with viewing the property.  In future, the buyer will
be more in control of the process,” she says.
The control of data: Erasmus says that data needs to be
set free. “The custom of keeping information to oneself is
no longer relevant or beneficial.  With so many millions of
people looking at the computer screen all over the world,
data needs to be ‘on the screen’ to be seen.  
The shift of media platforms: The newspaper has not
disappeared; you can read it now on your screen. The
internet has many different faces from Facebook to blogs
and everything in between. The real trick, according to
Erasmus, is to interact with a worldwide audience on the
right platform for the right product. If no-one responds, no-
one wants your product.
“Many estate agents are still stumbling around and
finding their way when it comes to dealing with the different
platforms in order to maximise opportunities,” she says.
The entry of younger participants: Real estate needs energy.
Today many young people see the opportunity of getting
paid for hard work.   It is not an easy industry and demands
long hours and late nights. “But,” says Erasmus, “younger
participants are equipped to use the modern software
available to respond quicker, set data free and provide
accurate data    - an exact match with the requirements of
today’s buyers.”
According to Erasmus, the positive effects that these
disruptors will have on the industry include real estate
becoming more customer-oriented and less agent-oriented.
“Agents will have to spend more time with one property to
collect proper data from the seller. All in all, this means that
the competition (including the Chatbots and smart software)
will be fiercer and agencies will have to work in teams to
perform better. The commission paid by the seller will be
divided by different individuals who assist with many more
steps of a sale. One agent will not be able to do all of this on
his/her own.
On the down side, Erasmus points out that job creation
in our country is important and not all entrants into the real
estate market are fully equipped with the skills to use the
technology. “There is also a large amount of fear of change,
which so many estate agents and principals are still guilty
of,” she says.
So are online agencies the big disruptors of modern real
estate? “There is a misperception in the market place that
these companies are disrupters. Disrupters are innovators,
and as Harvard Business School professor and disruption
guru, Clayton Christensen, says, disruption uproots and
changes how we think, behave, do business, learn and go
about our day-to-day; it “displaces an existing market,
industry, or technology and produces something new, more
efficient and worthwhile”.
In Erasmus’ opinion, online estate agencies don’t achieve
all this. “Anything offered cheaper has always attracted
customers, it does not matter what you sell.    Discounted
services don’t always work for all customers.  Some years ago,
Property.co.ca started off as an online agency. In my humble
opinion, this company was perceived to be an online agency
at first.      It did not take long before they opened offices,
same as the traditional agencies, recruited agents, same as
the traditional agencies and started to advertise in printed
newspapers.
“Lead Homes, the so called disrupter in the industry
charging R40  000 on average per transaction, has started
off with a bang due to a substantial cash injection into the
company.  This company however also advertises on bill
boards, same as the traditional agencies. They now also
hire estate agents and provide the same kind of advertising
that the traditional agencies do for their agents.  ‘For sale’
boards are displayed in front of homes, same as traditional
agents, and the methods of photos, script, internet and online
platforms used are similar to the traditional agents.”
Erasmus says that while these kinds of companies use a
smart way to enter the market, they will survive only if they
can attract a mass audience. “There is a big difference between
buying household goods online and buying a R10million
home online. These agencies face the same challenges as
traditional agencies in terms of the real industry disrupters
mentioned above. The question is, will they respond quickly,
will their data be correct and substantial, will they set
that data free and will they attract young, knowledgeable
individuals to work for them?
Just as cell phones did not exist one day and the next it was
almost as if we never lived without it, so will the spreading
of data by the use of technology techniques change both the
customer and the industry.
“While we think the world around us has changed, we
realise how it stayed the same.    The customer has always
been king and will always be.  As long as we know how to
serve the customer best, our business will flourish. The tools
of the trade have gone from manual to automatic, working
faster and harder in a shorter amount of time. Service may
come cheaper, but ultimately it is the quality that counts for
the end consumer,” Erasmus concludes.
SOURCE
Fine and Country
SA Real Estate Investor Magazine OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2018
33