Technology has paid off for Nick Baldwin. The New Jersey realtor paid $15 for an ad on Facebook, and it resulted in 2,000 hits and a $10,000 sales commission.
Like Baldwin, many realtors are discovering that social media, apps and data analytics can boost sales, though it doesn’t substitute for knowing the local market. Marketing a property and attracting buyers requires careful study of data both online and off, experts say.
New Jersey-based realtor Nick Baldwin uses apps that help him stay in continuous touch with clients and position him as an expert.
“Technology is great as a supplement,” says Baldwin, who is based in Montclair, N.J. “It can enhance your business, but you still need to be an expert on schools, community and crime, and you have to be able to navigate the deal.”
Social media postings have to go beyond house listings and target specific groups, Baldwin says. His Facebook post, for instance, zeroed in on first-time buyers from New York City and Hoboken, N.J., showing houses listed under $400,000.
For apps, Baldwin uses Open Home Pro to sign in potential buyers on his iPad when they visit open houses. The app will send them a “thank you for attending” email about 15 minutes after they leave, which Baldwin can follow up on later with his contact information.
‘Look like an expert’
“The things I look for, or use apps for, are things that will make me look like an expert or help me be in continuous touch with clients,” he says.
Other realtor-friendly apps include:
- Realtor.com’s app updates every 15 minutes with home sales and photos from Multiple Listing Service (MLS).
- MagicPlan allows users to make a floor plan of a home just by snapping photos in sequence.
- DocuSign is a way to electronically sign and distribute documents.
- Doorsteps is a visual site aimed at buyers, but realtors can use to help buyers, too.
There are pages and pages of potential apps for agents on Google Play. And realtors also use Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram to show off and promote homes online.
Technology can’t take care of everything, though. Agents are still a good source of information about a neighborhood’s prices, schools, taxes, crime and commutes.
Agents also can help find a mortgage broker or building contractor as well as arrange a house inspection.
“[Buyers] want you to be able to tell them something they can’t find otherwise,” Baldwin says.
Studying the data
Based in suburbs outside New York City, Baldwin targets first-time buyers with relatively modestly priced homes, which he calculates by studying data on previous home sales.
John Pinto of John V. Pinto Associates, San Jose, Calif. agrees. ”Sometimes in order to figure out the best way to set a price on a prospective property, you have to come at the analytics 10 different ways,” Pinto says.
On sites like Trulia.com and Zillow.com, the analytics are there if agents take the time to know where to look.
“Consumers have very little access to real analytics and that’s all the more reason to create a dialogue with a credited realtor,” he adds.
“Analytics are very, very important, but experience is important too,” Pinto says. And for all the new gizmos, he notes that old-school techniques like direct mail still work to sell real estate.
Baldwin and Pinto agree that multiple listings, visits to home pages and responses to Facebook all add to a realtor’s arsenal when it comes to selling a home.
The newest app Baldwin’s interested in is HomeKeepr, which sends regular reminders to homeowners about seasonal chores that need to be done on their new home.
“It sends them updates of when to do something and who to hire and it’s branded to the realtor,” Baldwin says. “It’s a way to keep you in touch with past clients automatically.”
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