There are moments in history where huge business opportunities are suddenly unlocked. Like the gold rush, these opportunities create fierce competition, rapid innovation, and new winners and losers.
A new gold rush is emerging in residential real estate, but the resource in this case isn’t a precious metal, it’s buyer data.
“A new gold rush is emerging in residential real estate, but the resource in this case isn’t a precious metal, it’s buyer data.”
So… what is buyer data, and why is it so valuable?
Simply put, buyer data is information about real estate demand in a particular market. How many homebuyers are seriously looking in a given zip code? How many beds and baths are in demand at what price point? What styles or features are popular right now?
The power of this information is staggering, and even more so if you are a listing-centric broker.
Let’s say you’re looking to differentiate against your competitors during listing presentations. Your competitors are using historical transactions as a highly flawed proxy for explaining property prices and demand. But with access to your buyer data, analyzed with the right tools, you can provide homeowners with a real-time list of buyers that are relevant to their property – an incredibly powerful value proposition to your clients.
“With access to your buyer data you can provide homeowners with a real-time list of buyers that are relevant to their property.”
Or take the practice of marketing listings to agents through e-flyers. Today, listing agents are haphazardly sending out e-flyers to random buyer agents – a recipe for low conversion. With buyer data, listing agents can target their communications only to buyer agents with qualified home buyers, making the listing agent’s marketing far more relevant and personalized. This not only saves money and effort, but will lead to more fruitful business conversations.
This, and many other benefits, are why there’s a rush to grab this buyer data.
Consumer portals like Zillow and Trulia, as well as alt-brokerages like Redfin and Compass have built robust consumer home search tools to attract and collect data from consumers. Others like Buyside have begun to aggregate buyer data from various 3rd party sources as well.
Traditional brokerages and agents have fallen behind, despite the fact that often the buyer data belongs to brokerages and agents to begin with.
“Traditional brokerages and agents have fallen behind, despite the fact that the buyer data belongs to brokerages and agents to begin with.”
The important thing to remember is that – like the gold rush – this is a land-grab. Every one of your clients that aren’t conducting their home search on a broker controlled platform – is a client that is leaking their buyer data to a 3rd party.
Read More about how Brokers are Losing the Battle for Buyer Data Here.
Platforms like RealScout help brokers stop this leaking, and enables brokers to take advantage of buyer data for increased profitability.
Now is the time for brokers and agents like you to full-heartedly enter the gold rush for buyer-data, and assert your position as the center of the real estate transaction. After all, your long-term wealth may depend on it.
About RealScout
RealScout (www.realscout.com) is the brokerage and agent-branded home search platform that empowers agents and their clients to find the right home faster. RealScout supports the competitive needs of brokerages and agents by helping them work in concert with their clients throughout their property hunt. Homebuyers receive exclusive personalized property matches based on their specific lifestyle and feature preferences. Agents have visibility into buyer activities to best meet evolving client preferences, boosting client loyalty and facilitating informed, data-driven decisions that generate more offers in less time.
