Leading real estate writer, commentator and coach Professor Bernice Ross reveals how the latest hi-tech tools are changing the way properties are marketed and sold, and explains why 3D will be one of the major developments of the future

‘At the moment there are 2m Realtor licensees in the US and 1.2m members of the National Association of Realtors (NAR). As an emeritus professor of psychology, one of my roles is to teach the companies that I work for how to perform better. I think that technology now plays a crucial role in that. Technology gives people a competitive edge, it allows them to simplify their business and not spend as much money on marketing. It also lets them know how best to serve their customers.

‘One of the things that those who are going to survive the recession have to understand is that the real estate market is now global. So the issue that they face is how do they reach that international buyer? It is not enough anymore to just go out and look at homes. The other challenge the real estate market faces is that, because of the buoyant market we have enjoyed for so long, there is a whole generation of people who are without negotiating skills and that we are now in a period when it is extremely difficult to get financing.’

Know your technology
‘What I am finding is that the people who are succeeding at the moment are those who have the wisdom to address those issues and they are doing that with a mix of technology and street knowledge. They are turning to technology because now 90 per cent of buyers are going online as part of their search.

‘But many of the people I talk to still do not know what is generating their online sales. Sites are getting a lot of hits, but the Realtors don’t know why. They don’t track leads and they don’t know what is governing their conversion ratios. They do not know what is generating their qualified leads: they think that technology is a substitute for connection.

‘Research recently carried out by the NAR has found out that 98-99 per cent of those people who view a property online will drive by and see it. The chief areas of technology that people should be concentrating on are Customer Relationship Management systems and a marketing set-up that allows them to carry out all of their marketing from just one place. With a one-stop marketing shop they should be able to carry out just one upload that places their listing on many sites and they should be able to do the same with their videos, etc: www.tubemogul.com is a good example of that.

‘It is something that the President of Nokia has referred to as “iPodification”. All of your services should be delivered to one point. Because of that there should be two variants of a real estate website – a full-blown version and a dot-mobi version which carries short, one-line descriptions for mobile.’

Sense of community
‘Mapping is one of those components that has been around for a long time and is now expected. One of the very interesting developments is www.rottenneighbor.com which lists bad neighbours, sex offenders and foreclosures. This is a development that I think is going to really pick up pace because at the moment anything that is pushing from the bottom up is gaining momentum.

‘So, what we are going to see is the growth of community information. That information will come from co-creation by users, word of mouth, the picnic and cocktail party circuit and from people who share common interests. Real estate agents are going to start drawing on that. The real estate companies that exploit this trend will be successful because they will become the “manager” of my zip code; they will become experts for that area and its lifestyle.

‘Two good examples of this are www.kevintomlinson.com and www.goarmyhomes.com – both are sites that are about “me and my lifestyle”. What these sites will start to do is become the basis for a search: people will be looking for people who have a similar lifestyle.

‘There are sites that are being put together now that are looking for people who are 35-50 and who either work on Wall Street or are involved in the media, film, TV and art. The idea is that they will form a community online and that they will also want to live near each other. It’s “where I’m doing business” and “what is my lifestyle”.

‘Into that you will get local information being factored in, so you will get the local restaurant owner and other people who have local businesses putting in information, and people buying a property will want to know all about that. People will be using Twitter and they will be blogging. In fact, I can see a growing market for journalists, because people will have to able to present this information in a professional way.’

3D – techno-tool of the future
‘I am making a presentation to the NAR, and one of the things that I have in it is that real estate goes 3D – I see that as a big trend. I also think that there will be an increased use of future creatures that will be able to walk around in those 3D models and give you a picture from wherever you are standing. I think 3D will expand into that community world.

‘The essential information that has to be on a website is listings, prices and community information – we are going to work towards what is being called “MLS 5.0”, which includes the traditional information, videos, interactive 3D and the community side.

‘One of the most interesting speakers at the last Inman conference was a man called Baynerchuk who was a wine merchant. He wanted to do a wine promotion over the holiday period and used radio and billboard advertising and Twitter. Both of the conventional methods generated 150 sales, while Twitter accounted for 1,700 because he made himself available as part of the local community and advised people on wine.

‘3D will have the same sort of role to play in providing local and specific information: it will also give people a competitive edge. I am involved in a real estate business in Beverly Hills, and if I were wanting to advertise a $3-5m listing, then I would do it in 3D – because that is what would give me the competitive edge.’