Property Data Offers Key Component for Brokers in Digital Era Header

Property Data Offers Key Component for Brokers in Digital Era

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Property data providers can help brokers and agents move into the 21st Century as best exemplified by these three quotes.

“Data is the sword of the 21st Century.”
“Statistics is the science of changing your mind under uncertainty.”
“You can have data without information. But you cannot have information without data.”

Data today is important. The thriving companies of the 21st Century – Google, Amazon, Facebook and others are all data intensive. So as a real estate professional, how are you implementing data in your business strategies?

Be THE Local Property Data Provider

 

Here’s the big picture. Consumers want this information. They are searching for:

  • Trends in home sales for each neighborhood
  • Historical charts on the movement of prices
  • School data
  • Boundaries (which are determined by GIS data) including school districts, school attendance zones, county and city boundaries, neighborhoods, subdivisions, etc.
  • Neighborhood demographics
  • Crime ratings
  • Cost of living data
  • Mapping data (again determined by GIS software)
  • Computer generated Home Value Estimates

Consumers know this data exists out there. They will eventually find it on the web. Home shoppers also prefer that this essential information is integrated with MLS home listings as well, so they can get all the relevant information they want on one page in one place.

The fantastic advantage today, is that there are Property Data Providers out there, such as Home Junction, who gather these billions of bits of information. They organize, sort it and then provide a software platform to feed that real estate market data to local brokers and agents. All a broker or agent has to do is add some lines of code to their website. On whatever page they want. The property data provider does the rest.

Data can be a Catalyst for Lead Generation

 

So, are you going to be the broker or agent who provides all the data we mentioned above that consumers are seeking? Because the brokers and agents who do, are going to be the ones who:

  • Start that relationship
  • Acquire the prospect’s contact information
  • Add more people to their email subscriber list
  • Generate that all-important phone call
  • Establish themselves as the agent with factual, in-depth local knowledge

When it comes to marketing, as the first quote says, data is the important tool in the 21st century. Use that property data for social media posts. In email blasts and even in direct mail campaigns. Tell people you provide it. Offer to give them detailed analysis of different properties with that data. Let them know they can come to your website to get quick home value estimates. AND that you will be glad to give them an in-depth CMA if they request one. (All they need to do is fill out that little contact form…and then that contact is now in the sales funnel).

Note: in 2018, customers of Home Junction recorded requests for more than 1.1 million home value estimates. Talk about a magnet to draw prospects to a website.

The premise is simple. People constantly ask this question, “What is my home worth?” In fact, according to Google, nearly 10,000 people a month type that search query into their internet browsers.

Don’t you want to be the broker or agent who provides that answer?

Offer Analysis as an Added Value

 

Here’s another quote that is also critical when it comes to data. “99 percent of all statistics only tell 49 percent of the story.” – Ron DeLegge II

There’s an opportunity here. A data opportunity. Not only is it crucial to be a property data provider, but what a great benefit an agent would be if they helped to interpret that data for people.

Tell buyers and sellers, what it means if all of a sudden home prices are shooting up in one particular neighborhood. Why is that? Maybe it’s because there is a new middle school under construction nearby. A new highway exit that is opening. Even a new Whole Foods under construction nearby can affect local prices.

Maybe prices are flat in another subdivision. Why is that? Are the HOA fees out of control? Is there an opportunity here for young buyers to get in on a good deal? Again, there’s a window open here to mix data with expert analysis. From a local agent. Not some faraway website.

We’ll end with this quote about data: “It is the mark of a truly intelligent person to be moved by statistics.” Which Google or Amazon engineer said that? It wasn’t from either of those companies. The quote is from playwright George Bernard Shaw. Born in 1856. Even a century ago he saw the importance of data.

Data, and when it comes to home buyers and sellers, property data, provides clarity, perspective and in this era of fake news – honesty. This is what consumers in the 21st century want. Be the property data provider in your target area that offers it to them.