In today’s highly competitive commercial and residential real estate markets, only those players who use emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence can thrive and contribute to the development of the industry that has been hit hard by the coronavirus, according to TAIGER, one of Asia’s fastest-growing AI companies.
“With the pandemic restricting real estate tours, realtors and developers will need to embrace technology to reduce the friction in searching and enquiring about a property, and ultimately drive a more experiential and convincing sell,” it wrote in a new article.
TAIGER—which is headquartered in Singapore with global offices in Dubai, Madrid, and Mexico City—develops advanced AI-engineered information access and extraction solutions that multiply enterprises’ productivity and profitability. It is an official provider of AI technologies for the Singapore government.
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Citing Aberdeen Standard Investments—a leading global asset manager —the company says total returns in the global listed market have fallen by 20% year-to-date and that “the 2020’s global economic contraction is still set to be deeper than any post-war recession”.
Asia has been no exception and has witnessed a decline in commercial and residential property transactions.
“Commercial property investments in Singapore, Hong Kong, and mainland China were the most adversely affected last quarter, with activity declining by at least 60% year-on-year,” the article added, quoting data from JLL, a world leader in real estate services.
TAIGER analysts maintain that AI can help realtors and the industry as a whole in several ways through offering a more personalized viewing experience:
1- Fetching a higher price with 3D immersive virtual tours
More and more companies, according to TAIGER, are taking advantage of the AI technology to create a 3D digital twin—which enables realtors to share the 3D virtual tour with prospects anytime, and for viewing anywhere.
“About 95% of people are more likely to call about properties with 3D virtual tours. Both realtors and leads thus save time, and physical viewing of the property would likely be for quality leads that are most serious in making a purchase,” reads the article.
It says apps like Matterport are now making virtual tours simple as their modern, immersive, and personalized viewing experience helps prospects better visualize themselves working in the commercial space or living in the home, which increases their desirability for the property.
“An academic statistical analysis of MLS (multiple listing service) transaction data from four markets across the United States revealed that an average listing with a 3D tour closed at a 4% to 9% higher sale price and up to 31% faster,” TAIGER says.
2- Qualify leads automatically and increase conversion rates
The article says another useful technology tool that can be leveraged by real estate agents to qualify leads is chatbots.
“With a virtual assistant, realtors can focus their attention on business development and closing deals. Upon assessing that a lead is seriously considering a purchase based on a set scoring system, the chatbot can automatically alert the realtor via a mobile notification,” TAIGER wrote.
It adds that conversion rates will drastically improve with a customer service that allows viewing anytime and anywhere and a virtual assistant that qualifies leads for realtors.
3- Manage appointment bookings, complete transactions, and gain insights
According to TAIGER, some chatbots are rule-based while others are AI-based. “The latter type has the ability to manage realtors’ appointments by syncing to their calendars and suggesting optimal appointments slots to prospects.”
It says chatbots can help with the settlement of paperwork, which requires realtors to spend valuable time travelling to meet prospects.
Intelligent chatbots also facilitate transactions and exchange of various multimedia formatted documents such as seller disclosures and home inspection reports, the article added.
“Moreover, with all these bookings and transactions happening through a chatbot, patterns can be detected through the high influx of user demographic and psychographic data, arming real estate organizations with the knowledge to make informed critical decisions like the creation of new services and departments, optimization of services processes, and retraining and upskilling of realtors,” TAIGER explains.
4- Buyers, sellers, and renters can access FAQs while on the tour
The article says prospective buyers will leave the virtual tour platform if they are not satisfied with the experience or their questions are not answered.
“With a built-in chatbot that can address any concerns 24/7 while prospects are immersed in the tour, prospects are better retained on the platform, and further engaged through tailored recommendations of similar property listings based on their preferences. Should the chatbot be unable to answer a specific query, the bot will know to alert realtors to reach out to agents via a live chat.”
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TAIGER added that higher engagement results in a higher influx of user demographic and psychographic data, which enables realtors to meet specific individual needs with better precision as well as detect patterns to emerging needs.
Quoting American software developer HubSpot, it says 60% of millennials are already using chatbots on a regular basis and a large number of customers prefer the ability for self-servicing their queries rather than having to engage in a phone call.
In addition, data from Gallup reveals that a customer who is fully engaged represents an average 23% premium in terms of share of wallet, profitability, revenue, and relationship growth over the average customer.
With an improved engagement comes greater retention so realtors are recommended to use AI to enhance the viewing experience in the real estate and hospitality industry, TAIGER reiterates.
