The introduction of the electronic signature in all sectors and services is a reality. But it has been during confinement due to the pandemic that the use of this tool has spread to more businesses. It has led, for example, to the complete transformation of real estate agencies.
In this post we will explain how this and other digital solutions have transformed the real estate industry with great success.
This post is also available in Spanish.
"In just two months, the professionals in the sector have made a ten-year digital leap" Francis Fernández confirms, CEO of the Spanish International Realty Alliance (SIRA) and moderator of the meetings in which more than 1000 professionals have discussed the recent changes in the real estate industry.
Circumstances have imposed this rapid digital conversion on the industry, which has continued to close transactions during the state of alarm - albeit at 14% of its normal capacity. However, it is not a temporary trend, but a definitive transformation: "Clients have already integrated videos in real estate ads and videoconference meetings, and these tools are becoming normal", Toni Expósito explains, CEO of the real estate network Comprarcasa.
Experts and businessmen also agree that technology will be the decisive element for the survival of the business during the crisis following the pandemic. In Spain, the real estate sector is made up of small businesses: 96% of them have less than six employees, according to 2018 data from the DBK consulting firm, and barely a dozen have more than 200 offices.
Digital solutions will therefore drive a greater concentration of real estate companies, but it will also lead to the success of those companies that know how to turn technology into a business tool that generates income and lowers costs.
More information: Sectores basic survey: Consultants and Real Estate Agencies (Spanish)
The digital conversion of a real estate agency involves several procedures. One of the essential elements to save time and costs is the electronic signatures for real estate. This tool allows companies to quickly sign new contracts online, thanks to the elimination of obsolete, cumbersome and slow paper work.
This gain in productivity makes the difference in a highly competitive global market, which makes the digital signature a vital factor for the growth of small and medium enterprises.
Idealista, the leading real estate marketplace in Spain, has launched a new service together with Signaturit that allows the creation and digitalization of the lease contract and the signing of the contract easily and free of charge with the digital signature.
This allows the parties, landlord and tenant, to sign without the need for travel or an electronic ID card, since Signaturit remote digital signature is sufficient.
How is the process of the new service provided by Idealista?
The digital signing of the contract is done through the web of the real estate portal in a secure way, using our technology as a trusted third party specialized in advanced electronic signature recognized by the EU.
Our signature allows the identification of the signatories and the date of signature of each one of the signatories, along with other electronic evidence. There is no need to install any application, and it can be used from any electronic device with Internet access: computer, tablet or mobile phone.
It takes less than three minutes for a property owner to create his own lease contract having the following advantages:
A picture is worth a thousand words, also in the real estate sector, where the visual material of a property represents 95% of the decision to purchase it. Not only do real estate portals rank their advertisements according to their images, placing in a better position those who have more pictures, but also owners will choose the real estate company capable of creating the best visual material for the sale of their property.
Therefore, at the stage of attracting property owners, they will appreciate that the real estate agency can create images, videos and virtual tours. In addition, in the case of empty apartments, virtual staging tools make the difference.
The marketing of real estate agencies is currently focused on attracting owners, instead of focusing on the buyer-customer, since 80% of potential buyers or tenants use real estate portals, according to studies.
Thus, maximizing the first part of the communication strategy means focusing on attracting rather than selling, whether on platforms or social media.
The second part of the marketing plan involves advertising the property. In this process, it is the one that requires the greatest investment in the marketing of the property, so it is convenient to carry out a return on investment study.
The publication in real estate portals, although it is expensive, guarantees views according to the number of platforms and advertisements. It is important to have previous knowledge of the real estate portals present in the area where the potential client is located.
Although with less market share, there are advertising alternatives to real estate platforms, such as specific advertisements on Google Ads, social networks or other portals.
Digitalization also saves time and costs, before and during the actual monetization of the business process. In this sense, online appraisal is a perfect tool –the more amounts of data available the more efficient it is. The use of the big data tools provided by a good CRM is key to make a good estimate of the price of the house that will be attractive to customers.
In addition, the commercial process is completed with flexible rates that provide various services adapted to their different needs.
The prevailing process of digitalization of real estate companies, aims to save time and costs. However, its effectiveness depends on the added value provided as a result of local knowledge and personal contact with customers and their subsequent follow-up.
Thus, technological innovations do not lead to the disappearance of small and medium enterprises. On the contrary, they lead to their conversion into business models in which the new tools, starting with the digital signature, help these SMEs to operate more efficiently, maintaining the proximity to customers that characterizes this industry.
This post is also available in Spanish.
