Proptech and Real Estate Agents

Beginning in December I started doing some research on some of the various ways to find a real estate agent online. After some poking around, I came across a few online business models that help you find a real estate agent.

In some ways that it is true that technologists would like to replace all the people with software. When I am in a good mood, I suppose I can wish them their fair share of luck with that idea. But when it comes to buying and selling real estate, I have enough personal experience to know that sometimes a sense of trust and expertise is more important than “instant access” and “free information.”

“If you are looking to quickly arrange for several proposals from real estate companies in your area, these kinds of services can be a great solution. If you are looking for an ‘agent you can trust,’ that is a different process.”
— From the article on Standard.net

Real estate purchases are what we call a “big ticket items.” For something simple and obvious, perhaps the “fastest, cheapest” way to procure it might be fine. But with buying property, “to know what you don’t know” is of tremendous value. I want guidance, I want insight into the market, I want someone to stop me from making a mistake. And while technology can be very helpful, the role of a real estate agent (with a lot of experience in a given market) can be precious.

With these thoughts in mind, I wrote about some proptech companies that help you find a real estate agent for Standard.net.

The piece starts out with a few examples of companies in the UK that use technology to help sellers find an estate agent - those companies provide data. I then contrast those companies with online reviews, which begin to provide a “softer” set of criteria that buyers use when they are looking for a real estate agent. And then the article talks about additional criteria that are more about how the agent makes you feel.

I work in technology. And I am bullish about how technology will help us improve our lives. But even before I had ever touched a computer, I was relying on human beings to help me navigate life’s more important decisions. I am still interested in this topic, but I currently side with the idea that real estate is a decidedly offline topic, and a real world agent - a good one, one with experience with both property and the psychology of the buyers and sellers - is something technology cannot replace.

That is what we really want. We want someone to guide us through the process.

This particular article was also interesting, because I had a chance to reach out to several companies in the space. And I was amazed at how hard it was to get marketing people to recognize a marketing opportunity. Some of the entrepreneurs behind Netanagent.com and Rendround.com where good enough to speak with me (a humble freelance writer). And because they were willing to talk, there is some measure of PR for them in that piece. But there were other companies that were less friendly… and because of that, no PR for them.

So many marketing people… avoiding marketing. Shame, shame, shame.

In a former life, I had formal marketing responsibilities. As a writer, there was a good opportunity here for several companies, and they will just have to find some marketing wins, someplace else, I suppose.

For everyone else: If you would like to collaborate on ideas, writing, contribution, or marketing for real estate, say hello: there could be an opportunity to work together.

Let’s make some moves together.