Technology means the real estate industry is shifting and the digital capabilities of running a real estate business needs to catch up. That’s according to James ‘JJ’ Taylor, director of @realty which uses digital technology to give agents the freedom to work remotely while being under a brand.
With a growing number of agents nationally, @Realty enables real estate agents to operate autonomously under a unified brand with no need for an office and therefore reducing overheads.
Mr Taylor says the agents are able to earn more commission under @realty than their colleagues working for traditional real estate offices, meaning they have more freedom and flexibility to interact at a fair rate with other agents, thus providing a better experience and service to clients.
“Imagine how well one could service clients if you were earning a higher commission and interacting with every agent at a fair rate, and if you had the freedom to network in any area/territory and were not required to achieve vendor paid advertising targets. You would be looking after the client’s best interests and not the interests of the “brand” you work for,” Mr Taylor said.
“We believe that the sooner agents embrace the challenges that form part of the industry and adjust their outlook to make room for the opportunities offered, the sooner those challenges won’t appear nearly as big as they might seem initially,” Mr Taylor says.
“The real estate sector has experienced similar levels of technological disruption as many other industries. Engaging with expanding digital capabilities and the resultant speed and power it affords business is important.
“We’re seeing an increase in people’s expectations of what a quality experience should deliver.
“There is huge unexplored power in this area that we think is increasingly important to deliver value to clients in the future – in terms of quality and efficiency during the sales process but perhaps, more importantly, to track and measure the impact and value of service over time,” he says.
The benefits @realty provides for agents, according to Mr Taylor, is the ability to operate differently from competitors via a purpose-built, comprehensive software platform and support network that provides a one-stop sales operating system for all types of sales. The @realty platform is the office, allowing agents to be fully mobile with access to all files, contracts, listings and more on the mobile, tablet or computer.
“We have eliminated the unproductive pressure of sales meetings, KPIs, floor times, team caravans and other time consuming requirements. Our group’s online learning programmes assist our agents to incorporate all these matters into their daily operations so as not to distract them from their main goal, which, of course, is to earn a living.
“As an agent, you want to focus on your core activities, which is listing, selling, and let administration tasks be handled by others, which is one of the primary reasons of working in an office. But is it fair to be required to pay circa 50 percent of your commission for that privilege? If you were a principal you would argue yes, but if you are sales consultant you are likely only putting up with it because the only other alternative is to start your own agency, which can be very costly.
