During 2018 we were present at the RENT PropTech fair in Paris and we gathered with real estate professionals to know who are the new actors coming into the real estate market during 2019. Here you will find the new actors that you should keep an eye on.
1. A new generation of agencies: « New Gen under Steroids »
These agencies use the best technologies available to improve it's services. Their strategy is focused on "mobile-first" concept and artificial intelligence. By using technologies they can recruit the best agents, provide them a good working environment, and analyse their results in real-time.
2. The « iByers » agencies
This sounds a word popped out of Apple. However, iByers are agencies that, like the New Gen, work with artificial intelligence and big data. They use it to boost their sales, and to better understand their customers and their needs.
They are the kings of simplification. They simplify their processes and information shared with customers, and they are focused on solving their pain points. They already have a strong base of knowledge regarding customers. So they just share the useful information for each type of customer. One well-known example of iBuyers is Opendoor.
Our mission is to empower everyone with the freedom to move, and we’ve served nearly 20,000 customers who have come to Opendoor to make that move easier. Whether it’s getting married, starting a family, or taking a new job, we help people get to their next step in one simple, seamless transaction.- Opendoor presentation
The company is on pace to spend more than $2.5 billion on home purchases over the next year, with the average price of a home at $250,000. Let's have a look on their presentation.
3. The « Low Cost » real estate agencies
These are agencies that start by accepting that marketing and communication. These 2 vectors are vital to boost their sales. They invest in these two sectors to help them differentiate from the competition. On the other hand they limit, as much as possible, the direct contact with the buyers, and they give all agents the tools they need so that they are independent and autonomous. They are no longer small players in the market, so watch out!
Low Cost agencies, like Marton or Proprioo, in France, help property owners saving 15'000 dollars on average. But how do they do it? They simply reduce their management fees when selling a property. They are no longer small players in the market.
Examples of new real estate actors
Yopa, in the United Kingdom, uses technology to cut costs. They do everything except the actual house viewing. They simplify transactions by offering a fixed price and a clear proposal. Their fees for selling a home start from just £510, and the human contact is reduced to minimum, even though they assign a real estate agent to every customer.
Example of new real estate actor
So to summarise, and in case you are planning to become a low cost agency, here are a few tips:
- Understand that you need to capture your clients and you need to invest heavily in communication and marketing.
- Be bold and explain your potential customers what you do best.
- Process all mandates and provide information online
- Provide vendors private spaces inside the platform so they can be independent.
4- The « automated managers »
The automated managers is a new American trend. Their strategy is to simplify and automate everything. They simplify the tools they use and the relationship with customers. In the end, they optimise they optimise time (for customers and for them). To achieve its goal, automated managers gather all interactions in the same system, and automate actions that have no added value.
Companies like Good lord and Mynd are great examples of what we have just explained. Both companies simplify real estate tasks to maximum. From their platforms a real estate agent can manage a rental file, book an appointment and others.
Examples of automated managers
5. The « online hunters »
Finally we come to the last actor. Hunters look for properties for their online customers. So they only work with the buyers. To better serve their clients and differentiate themselves from the competition, they are looking for properties everywhere, including the properties of other real estate agents. On the other hand they work with algorithms to find the best buildings available on the market. For these there are still little or no competition.
One example that we would like to bring to your attention is Leosquare in France. This company aims to find offices in Paris tailored to it's clients needs. It uses algorithms such as Immoscan, a cutting-edge new technology that uses artificial intelligence and semantic analysis, that displays which average price per m2 sells the fastest, the percentage of goods sold in a certain number of days and much more.
Example of Online Hunter
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