Agents adapt as digital becomes the only way in times of social distancing

50,000 virtual meetings, terabytes moved to the cloud, mass adoption of online tools as real estate transactions become highly digitised. It’s clear with the recent social distancing rules (and even as they’ve been relaxed in some places) that agents can change and adapt at a rapid pace. Whilst the motivation came from necessities such as compliance with changing state-based legislation and commercial realities, the results are impressive.

Our members were able to pivot to private virtual auctions in only days with excited bidders and concerned vendors wondering if the new way of working was going to deliver results. Well, we have seen some great outcomes with registered bidders increasing, clearance rates on the rise and proving the auction method remains the best way to achieve the highest price for our clients. Even as restrictions have lifted around the country, we have seen hybrid auctions still taking place where customers are bidding from both on-site and online for the same property!

Private virtual inspections also helped keep buyers across new listings and create the competition we know is required to bring transactions to a close. Recent data from HomePass showed potential buyers who attended Ray White Group private inspections (and now) open homes have been up dramatically week on week. In fact, current Ray White customer “check-in” numbers are 36 per cent higher than pre-COVID times.

While the processes took some time to understand and our members were possibly uncomfortable at first (a normal feeling during change management), many of our agents were simply happy to be serving clients in a safe and professional manner.

Our consumer feedback has been consistent - clients want seamless, instant information and accessibility via a range of digital channels that they use today. Our customer satisfaction results over the past few months have proven clients on both sides of the transaction are willing to evolve to these new ways of operating.

Now it’s up to our business owners to lead the process improvements that enshrine these digital changes into their admin teams, agent activity and ultimately their overall business structures.

Will customers expect a hybrid of some of these above-mentioned processes and new ways of operating as life returns to ‘normality’? Only time will tell...