Real estate agents and brokerages alike can benefit from the modern age of technology. But where do you start, which platforms are best and why should you even consider using them?
The first answer is simple: Start here. I will break down the top three softwares to transform your real estate game, whether you are on the investment or sales side, as well as the reasons you should use each one.
Above all, the reasons for using the latest tech should be to keep you ahead of the game, build trust with your clients and streamline your process.
If you are nervous about the potential learning curve, keep in mind that the sooner you start, the better. Typically, once you learn one platform, learning any compounding technology becomes second nature.
And you’ll never know how easy it is unless you try. The time investment upfront will save you time and increase your profits in the long run, so don’t wait.
1. NILE
The NILE platform is your all-in-one digital real estate assistant. Co-founders Tim Helfrey and Khaled Yatim, a tech wizard and real estate genius duo, created this software to bring everything a real estate agent or investor needs to the table. The platform is built on blockchain technology and completely automates the homeselling process.
NILE cuts the processing time of completing a sale from weeks to days — five, to be exact. It generates leads, gets sellers the highest price for their homes, and streamlines paperwork in under 20 minutes.
“Good software and platforms don’t displace real estate agents or make them have to work harder,” said Tim Helfrey. “They empower agents and brokers to streamline their processes for a better client experience. That’s the ultimate incentive.”
Yatim and Helfrey created this software to slingshot independent real estate agents and brokerages well ahead of their competitors. The idea is to save them time on mindless busy work so they can get back to the thing computers cannot do: making lasting, personal client connections.
“Real estate agents and brokers are constantly seeking solutions to enhance the efficiency of selling homes. The answer to that is cutting edge software made by people who know the pitfalls of the current real estate climate,” said Khaled Yatim. “There are misconceptions within the industry that real estate agents will not benefit from new technology. That is simply not true. Our tech is specifically designed to make their lives easier than ever before.”
2. AgentLoop
AgentLoop is a networking app that enables agents to glean real-time feedback on their listings and connect with each other. Co-founded by former Zillow executive Jay Thompson, the app is available on Apple iOS and Google Play.
The app is not just a flash in the pan: AgentLoop currently has almost 900,000 profiles created with public records information. The app includes names, phone numbers, and email addresses that real estate agents can access as part of a prepopulated profile when they sign up for an account.
“The real estate industry has made massive progress when it comes to digitization over the past few years,” said Thompson, who is now directing AgentLoop’s industry relations. “However, seamless agent-to-agent communication — a place for all agents to share relevant listings and stay in touch with contacts from other brokerages across the industry — remained the missing piece.”
Thompson and his team created AgentLoop to bridge the gap between technology and the necessary human element in real estate sales. By keeping the doors of communication staunchly open and accessible, what was once a tedious process to keep in touch and gain feedback becomes convenient, practical, and all in one place.
“Lots of agents go to a listing presentation, and they’ll say ‘I will broadcast your listing to my network of 500 agents’ and the sellers go, ‘Well, that sounds awesome. That’s great,’” Thompson added. “But there’s no way to know which of those 500 agents might have an interested buyer that might find your listing interesting. There’s no feedback loop, and that’s super powerful feedback for an agent to have.”
3. Kelle
Kelle, pronounced ‘Kelly’, is a voice-activated mobile application that gives a snapshot of any neighborhood’s market trends based on an agent’s location. The app was created by 2018 Innovator of the Year Keller Williams and utilizes the popular app Nextdoor’s data to present findings to its users.
Nextdoor, the homeowner and renter social app that connects people to their neighbors in this digital age, sends data to Kelle. Users of Kelle can ask it to “snap from my location,” and the app will give them a report of the happenings in that area, from active listings to average prices.
Kelle solves the simple problem of speed and efficiency that real estate agents face when touring areas for new properties to sell. With voice activation and mobile capabilities, Kelle makes it easy for agents to get the pertinent information they need at a glance while on the go.
To date, over 3 million inquiries have been entered in the Kelle system, with over 57,000 users and over 92,000 downloads.
Which one is right for you?
As a professional with many ties to the real estate industry, I feel that these programs will not lead you astray. All three work well with each other, and that is part of the significance of this list. You can cherry-pick and try one to see if that’s the thing you were missing all along, or you can try them all and create your own personalized digital real estate agent help desk.
The beauty of the tech world is that while it is always changing, its creators never lose the goal of making our lives easier. These platforms serve as a testament that there is always someone on your side to help you better your career because success in the real estate industry depends on the success of the market and group as a whole.
Victoria Kennedy is CEO of Atman Real Estate. Connect with her via email.
