Real Estate Technology

Real EstateTechnologyBenchmarkReport

Table of Contents123456Introduction & DemographicsThe Real Estate Technology LandscapeTools & Foundational SoftwareWebsitesMarketing & Lead GenerationThinking to the Future

IntroductionThree Key Takeaways:1. Your Website MattersThank you for downloading Propertybase‘s annualReal Estate Technology Benchmark Report.In our annual report, we surveyed over 500 leadersfrom across the global real estate community to betterunderstand their technology strategy.The resulting report is a glimpse into how leadingbrokerages and teams are approaching digitalmarketing , lead generation, competition fromtech-enabled brokerages, and the influx of disruptivetechnology in the industry.Good News! Your website can, and should, compete withZillow and Trulia. With a little focus, it can become a top leadgeneration machine for your business. In fact, 35% ofrespondents already say it is their top source of qualityleads!2. With Tech, Less is MoreFirst, it was gather all the latest and greatest tech tools towoo agents. Now it’s, a thoughtful approach to creating asingle-sign-on (SSO) ecosystem.3. Agents Need More SupportThere is still much work to do here, but increasing numbersof brokerages are creating strategic technology andmarketing training programs for their agents.

DemographicsWho took this survey?Company SizeBrokerageTeamSingle AgentVendor55%19%15%11%

CHAPTER 1The Real EstateTech Landscape

Technology LandscapeThe Real Estate Technology Landscape280%Investment in Real Estate TechnologyVenture capital invested in private market realestate tech companies continues to set recordlevels. Year-to-year (July 2018 & July 2019),venture capital investments in real estate techcompanies increased by 280%.*Source: CRE Tech Research July 2019

How many different realestate technology tools doyou use across yourbrokerage?1-2 Tools19%3-5 Tools51%6-9 Tools21%10 Tools9%Brokerage Tech OfferingsAn Ecosystem of Tech Vs. Individual ToolsMany brokerages are working hard to present an integratedecosystem of technology- a move from the past 5 years where thefocus was on collecting a-la-carte tools. With 51% of brokeragesoffering at least 3-5 pieces of software, creating a single-sign-on(SSO) experience is critical to success. Additionally, it offers manyadvantages including: Centralized data and reporting Reduced lost login credentials Improved agent experience and loyalty“We’ve decided to present our tech stack to agents as a fullplatform with SSO (single-sign-on) access vs. a “set of tools.” Weadded SSO to the additional tools we needed to complementour core platform. This way, we present our agents with onego-to place for all their needs. It has created an empoweredagents base who remain loyal to our brokerage and helpeddecrease forgotten login credentials.”- Rachael Joyner Meyer, Joyner Fine Properties

Annual Planned Technology Spendby Size50%33% 33%28%27%25% 25%25% 25%17% 17%15% 15% 15%15%1-49 Agents50-299 Agents300-499 Agents500 Agents 22,542 47,307 122,500 167,857 5k 5-10k 10-20k 20-50k 50-100k 100-200k 200 5k 5-10k 10-20k 20-50k 50-100k 100-200k 200 5k 5-10k 10-20k 20-50k 50-100k 100-200k 5k 5-10kk 10-20k 20-500k 200 4%2% 50-1000k 100-2 200 2%3%12% 12%

38%of respondents said that theirbiggest long-term threat is“falling behind the tech curve”23%Listing portals (Zillow, Trulia)17%Large companies like Amazon,Google, and Facebook jumping intoreal estate12%Tech-enabled brokerages (Compass,Redfin)

OVERHEARDDigital StrategyWhat's the smartest technologydecision you made in the past year?“We’ve Implemented a company-wide digital strategy. We promote ourvalue propositions and cutting-edge technology to home buyers andsellers on howardhanna.com. We’ve launched digital advertisingcampaigns on paid search, display, and social media that utilize marketinsights data coupled with persona targeting and keywords. We’ve seenextraordinary results that are out-pacing industry benchmarks.”- Jennifer Reider, Howard Hanna Real EstateData SecurityLanding PagesThe Platform Play“We used various providers for email,website, CRM, etc. We decided to move toone single platform that covers all of ourprevious solutions. Now, almost a year later,we’re very happy that we have everything inone system from one provider.”-Tom Bruijnzeel, Nardia Real Estate“I stopped pushing paid search ads to mygeneric website and started building outlanding pages based on neighborhoods andarea profiles. The content is gated, so visitorshave to fill out a form (name/email) to viewdetails and browse listings. I’m gettingsignificantly more leads. My next step is to addqualification questions to the form.”- Simon Muhl, Exit Excel RealtyCRM / Lead RoutingTransaction ManagementPredictive Analytics“I stopped chasing leads and started looking at predictiveanalytics. Once I realized that 95% of sellers were alsogoing to be buyers, it became possible to pursueprospects 12 months out. We gather data fromProspectNow, Offrs, and others to identify people ‘likely tosell in x months’ and nurture them. It’s the ongoing nurturingthat converts them from prospect to client.”- Michael Lissack, VRG Washington Realty Group“Two-factor authentication and cybersecurity trainingrequirements for all agents -- this has cut down on thenumber of email hacks and also creates a competitiveadvantage for our agents when they can educate theirsellers about fraud and best practices.”- Brooke Churas, Mott & Chace Sotheby’sInternational Realty“We added BackAgent, which is powerfultransaction and compliance software. Before,keeping up with task progress was a daily,manual process. Now, I have a clear view of ouractive listings and escrows and can easily remindco-workers when deadlines are due, or if theyneed to extend listing agreements.”- Jessica Pearson, Hawaii Pacific Brokers“We’ve created a complex, fully automated leadrouting system that I truly believe was onlypossible with the Propertybase platform. Wesort leads by geographic location and distributethem to agents based on areas they have optedinto. It’s first come first serve, and if a lead goesunclaimed after a certain number of minutes,they’re immediately started on an SMS-emailcombo drip campaign. Everything is 100%automated and extremely scalable.”- Nate Schmidgall, RE/MAX Results

CHAPTER 2Tools & FoundationalSoftware

The Top 5 Tools Real EstatePros Can’t Live WithoutCRM42%Email & Marketing Automation9%Mobile Phone9%Listing Portals8%MLS/IDX Integration7%

The Importance of aStrong FoundationMOST ADOPTEDCRMEmail MarketingTransaction ManagementCRM, Email Marketing, and Transaction Management are themost adopted software tools within a real estate organization.Additionally, when asked what the one tool they couldn’t liveAgent WebsitesCMAwithout - 42% of respondents named CRM as their choice.Print/Direct MailWhat does this mean for you as a brokerage or team?Visual Tools (photo, video, floor plans)For one, you need to provide a solid foundation of tools for your agents.Lead Generation ServiceAll-in-one platforms, like Propertybase, should be your target as they offerthe tools your agents want the most - all from a single location.With your most used tools in one platform, you can: Reduce the number of loginsIntranet/Internal ChatOpen House ToolsShowing Sheets Speed up the learning curve Increase productivity. One system tighter integrated products less riskof discrepancies and no double data entryTestimonial SoftwareLEAST ADOPTED

Your CRM is The Foundationof Your Tech EcosystemPowersInsightMostAdoptedToolYour CRM needs to be connected andintegrated with other tools to fully provide thevalue you and your agents are looking for. If itCRMisn’t, agents can just piece together tech at anyother brokerage.“Agents can take individual tools with themelsewhere. If another company woosthem away and doesn’t provide a particulartool you offered the agent, they can just get itthemselves! When we provide a full“platform” that works for agents, the result isan empowered agent base who remain loyal tothe brokerage.”Most frequentlyprovided by thebrokerageWebsiteIntegration#1 tool realestate pros can’tlive without

71%of real estate businessescan access their CRM as amobile app.When your CRM is available as a mobile app, you help your agents performseamlessly without any hindrance, wherever they are. Think about it, whathappens if a lead calls during an open house? With all the data right in front ofthem, agents can instantaneously render customers the information they want.

31%of real estate businesses still operate on a CRM that does not integrate withtheir website. Yet, data about lead activity and engagement is one of the topinsights real estate pros want to get their hands on.

A Focus on TrainingMore and more brokerages are investing resources into creatingWhat are brokerages doing to help their agents achieve more with tech?extensive training programs that help agents not only to adopt newtechnology, but get excited about tech and feel inspired to try thingsHold weekly trainingson their own.Create plug-and-play email templates“Providing weekly training on our technology has createda whole new breed of agents closing in our company.”Send ‘how-to’ drip campaignsOffer a library of best practices- Keri Sweetland, Centre Realty GroupInspire beyond your own technology

CHAPTER 3Websites

35%of real estate businesses see theirwebsite as the number one driverof quality leads.

Most Used Website Lead %21%11%LeadFormsBlogSavedSearchMortgageEstimates

Calculators & ConversionsThere is arguably no better tool for capturing potential buyer and seller leads than “What’s My Home Worth?” and“Mortgage Estimator” calculators. This is an easy conversion opportunity that can deliver genuinely active leads, but youwill want to test where and when to gate the content in exchange for contact information.

Content isStill KingHow often you add new content to your site directly affectsits ability to produce quality leads.WeeklyUpdatesInfrequentUpdatesRespondents who add newcontent to their site daily orweekly see the website as thenumber one driver of qualityleads for their business.Respondents who rarely updatetheir website see directmail/postcards as the best driverof leads. 19% say they cannotself-edit their website and mustsend changes to a vendor/developer.61% of respondents update their website weekly or more.

Making Your MarkWhy Your Website is More Important than EverFact: The top 10 real estate websites get nearly half of traffic (Zillow, Trulia, Realtor.com,etc.)They are going big, so you need to go small. You know the niche neighborhoods that people in your area are searching. Zillow doesn’t.Fact: Tech-Enabled Brokerages will continue to forge ahead in their market takeoversCompass is on pace to complete 16,000 transactions and 350M in revenue by the end of the year. So, how do you compete? Start bybuilding a company culture that is worth more than a big signing bonus. Then, fight their big tech budget with your own unique suiteof tools (all plugged into a solid website/CRM foundation) that costs less and fits your brokerage and agents needs.Additional Resources:The Definitive Guide to a Winning Real Estate WebsiteA practical how-to guide on how to create the best real estate website on the market.DOWNLOAD NOW

More than just a pretty face.We take care of the rest.Propertybase WebsitesBeautiful on the front-end and packed with tools to attract and convert more leads- hyper-local SEO, customforms, dynamic market insights, and the best MLS and IDX-integrated property search on the market.Learn More

CHAPTER 4Marketing &Lead Generation