New innovations embraced during Covid are making it easier to buy, sell homes

Could real estate agents be replaced with robots or apps? A range of new property technologies have opened up a world of possibilities and promise to shift how we trade our homes.

On a life-changing Tuesday night in late March 2020, in-person auctions were banned to help stop the spread of Covid and home inspections were heavily restricted across much of the country. Since then, real estate hasn’t been quite the same.

Pre-Covid, the property industry was already on the path to creating virtually-enabled services, but much of that was going on behind the scenes.

The emerging sector, known as “proptech” includes businesses using technology to disrupt and improve how property is bought, sold, rented, managed, designed or built. This growing area went into hyperdrive as the crisis pushed businesses online.

Now auction crowds are back and house hunters can once again “kick the tyres” at open homes, but some pandemic-induced changes are here to stay, especially under the virtual hammer.

UNDER THE HAMMER OVER THE NET

Peter Matthews, CEO of online auction company Realtair and president of the Real Estate Institute of NSW, said in more than 30 years in property he’d never seen such hi-tech adoption over a short period.

Auctioneer Alex Pattaro calling an recent virtual auction. Picture: Julian Andrews

“We’ve had lots of technological changes in that time, including the internet which altered the property marketing space, but it didn’t have a huge impact on the way agents engaged one-on-one with consumers,” he said.

“It wasn’t until Covid that people were forced to embrace technology platforms and as a result changed their actions. It’s been a good thing for agents, but equally good for buyers and sellers because it’s kept the market rolling.”

HOW COVID SPED UP CHANGE

Before the pandemic, platforms such as Realtair were offering online auctions, but the uptake had been slow.

“Take any normal week before the ban on auctions and we were averaging about 50 properties. From that Tuesday to the next Saturday it jumped to 550 auctions online. In about three days we probably trained around 300 auctioneers, close to 1000 agents and I don’t know how many members of the general public,” Mr Matthews said.

Fast forward to a post-pandemic property landscape and homebuyers can once again purchase under the hammer in person, but there are now options.

“Hybrid auctions are now much more common; where we have people in the room or at the property bidding, as well as those bidding online.”

Many of the technologies were around long before Covid hit, but were only adopted during the pandemic. Picture: David Swift

Mr Matthews said the uptick in online auction offerings could even challenge the traditional real estate calendar where weekends were coveted and school holidays were avoided.

“Of course there are still a lot selling on the traditional Saturdays, but now with hybrid offerings or timed auctions I think sellers, buyers and agents have a real opportunity to match the demand of a property, and the timing of an auction, with what’s going on in the market at any point in time.”

THE EBAY WAY TO BUY A HOME

Timed online auctions have come to the fore since Covid, as an alternative to traditional auctions. Coined the “eBay” of real estate, they are conducted virtually like a live online auction, however bidders make their offers over a set time frame.

Selling agent Neil Webster of Stone Real Estate Illawarra recently sold a home on the NSW South Coast via a two-day timed auction. The buyer, a local resident, purchased the Warilla property for $1.405m while working from home.

“We had strong interest from many groups who wanted to make an offer prior to the auction day. The vendors were also keen to sell prior as they had already bought elsewhere, so a shorter time frame worked for them too,” he said.

ADVANTAGES OF TIMED AUCTIONS

One clear perk for the purchaser when it comes to timed auctions, or online private treaty sales, is a greater sense of transparency than the conventional methods.

New apps speed up the time it takes to get transactions over the line.

“All buyers can see exactly what offers are being made, instead of it happening behind closed doors. A timeline can be fixed and buyers actually have the opportunity to compete on that property transparently from their phone and even get alerted every time somebody else bids,” Mr Webster said.

“At a traditional auction they’ve got that transparency, they can stand in the room and see every time a bid is made and check out their competition. When it’s private treaty or ends up being a ‘blind auction’ prior to a scheduled auction, they just don’t get that.”

NEW INNOVATIONS

– With Kylie Davis, Proptech Association Australia president

Digital signatures: Emailing bulky contracts to print out and sign became a thing of the past. It meant transactions took weeks and months to turn around. Contracts are now being created and signed digitally on your phone, tablet or computer which means they’re being turned around in hours.

3D tours: 3D walk-throughs let you inspect a property without leaving your couch, but it’s more than just a fancy video. Good tours give you a sense of proportion and let you measure elements of the home. They are of huge value to buyers even though real life inspections are possible again.

Virtual staging: Why do rentals – which let’s face it are not cheap – always look abandoned and unloved? Virtual staging inserts furniture into the photos of properties to help with a sense of proportion, help you understand how big rooms really are.

Buyer negotiation platforms: These remove the need for agents to call everyone who expresses interest and then call again when a better offer is received. Instead, interested parties are invited to an offer room where they can access contracts and make an offer. Agents and vendors can decide whether buyers can see what each other has offered or just where their offer ranks. When a better offer is received all parties are immediately advised making the process extremely transparent.