88: Kylie Davis: New Real Estate Business Models vs Technology: Which is The Bigger Threat?

Real estate is set to be one of the most disrupted industries in Australia and New Zealand with 82% of real estate jobs at risk of digital disruption by 2032 compared with 44% of Australian jobs generally.

While introducing technology that reduces costs is a no-brainer, the next wave of change for agents requires greater imagination. The next wave – which is already upon us – requires a reimagining of the traditional business models to put customer expectations – not business comfort – at their centre.

In this episode of Real Estate Pros, we’re joined by Kylie Davis – the Head of Property Services Marketing at CoreLogic to discuss The Future of Real Estate and Property Finance Industries Report 2016. Co-authored by Kylie, this comprehensive report identifies five major technology trends that are already being felt by real estate agents, the next big things in real estate technology and how new business models could potentially be more of a disruptor than technology itself.

According to the Future of Real Estate and Property Finance Industries Report 2016, there are five major technology trends that are already being felt by real estate agents and property finance professionals that need to be navigated now.

These are:

1. Mobile – giving consumers access to information anywhere, any time on any device which is changing expectations about information accessibility and response times while also increasing distraction levels.
2. Cloud computing – software-as-service platforms that are increasingly connecting to each other allowing information and data to “hand off” without human intervention while dramatically reducing the costs of software, integration between service providers, and rapid experimentation on customer needs.
3. Connected communities – the ability for individuals to group or gather around topics of interest, outrage or geography, spontaneously and broadly through the phenomenal rise of social media, which has changed expectations towards unflinching accountability and high service expectations.
4. Big data – the unprecedented levels of data and information now available to be incorporated into individual businesses are delivering insights and analytics that dramatically change how businesses make decisions, grow and create unprecedented levels of customisation to clients
5. Electronic servants – the marriage of the Internet of Things (IoT) with artificial intelligence to both collect data from previously inanimate objects is automating time-consuming tasks and creating another level again of big data and analytics.

In turn, these technology megatrends have changed human behaviour, increasing our capacity to absorb information and do tasks in moments that were previously considered as down time. They are also raising our expectations of what constitutes good service while lowering our tolerance of poor experiences and reducing the time we expect to spend learning new skills. And all of this is occurring in a world where communication-to-many is completely democratised.

In such a world, the business model for real estate agents and property finance professionals needs to adapt, moving away from being a single commission payment for the service of marketing a home or determining a mortgage with high stress and low confidence.

In its place, a multiple payment model from a portfolio of services that deliver the “outcome” of a successful move from one property to another or funding one lifestyle type to another is evolving. This will be done in a way that is focused on maximum value, low stress and high confidence and a range of service options that can be customised to meet the individual needs of each customer.

To execute these strategies, both real estate and property finance businesses will enter partnerships and service delivery relationships that deliver best-of-breed experiences both externally to customers and internally to their own staff. They are providing end to end service for their customers through the whole ‘journey’ not just for what was their traditional their service.

To these ends, property and finance professionals need to embrace a range of new communication deliverables via their websites and social media strategies that give potential customers transparency around the sales, rental or property management process and an understanding of the value proposition being offered.

The challenge for business owners and CEOs is to focus not on the technology itself, but instead rigorously manage change programs with staff as they eliminate business pain points. In the not too distant future – we are starting to see the effects already – business differentiation will be determined not just by the services offered, but also by the speed to execute new innovations in service and an ongoing mindset of change through build, measure, learn and repeat.

Are our property industries up for such a challenge?

Ever since mobile phones first became mainstream 20 years ago, property industry leaders have shown themselves to be early adopters. They are quick to embrace new technologies that improve efficiency and deliver higher than ever service levels with an entrepreneurial zeal in response to changing customer behaviours. History indicates the answer is yes, but the time to begin was yesterday.

Download a copy of the Future of Real Estate & Property Finance Industries Report 2016.

Follow Kylie on Twitter or connect on LinkedIn.

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