It would be too condescending to open this article with “In these unprecedented times…”, so I won’t do that in full. Although last year was quite crazy. Everything in our lives has been turned upside down by the COVID-19 pandemic, from just minor annoyances to dire situations and worse.
As a real estate agent, my corner of the world has changed quite a bit as well. I feel like there is something new to do every week. From the show to the closing, everything is different from before.
i keep the gary keller book permanently SHIFT: How top real estate agents deal with tough times At my desk these days, reminding myself that you adapt and get away, or you may be out of business. This pandemic has forced me to re-evaluate many things, from who I hang my license with, how my business is set up, and whether it is agile enough to change on the fly. Whereas shift Talking about the real estate market, everything seems to have changed except for the market, which has been surprisingly strong throughout the year.
Almost everything has changed in how we do it, and I’ll list the changes I’ve experienced this year, and some of these changes may be permanent:
Some of the four big changes I experienced this year may be here to stay.
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How Being a Real Estate Agent Has Changed in 2020
remote work
For those of us who have always worked from home and have never actually been to our company’s real estate office, nothing has changed. For those who were working in office, most were forced out for a few months, whether by policy or by choice. The transition to working from home can be difficult. Luckily, by now, there are a few hundred guides and videos on how to best optimize.
I would love to work from home, but it is not for everyone. Without coworkers and water cooler conversations, it can be tough for many. (That and not being able to get away from the distractions of being home. For me, it’s my dogs constantly barking at Amazon delivery guys, and my kid being home-schooled.)
Remote working is a change that companies around the world are perpetuating. The coronavirus forced businesses to look at whether their workforces can do as much remotely as they can in the office — so far, the answer is yes.
How has your brokerage adapted, if at all? Do they have the tools to customize and support you remotely? The real question you should be asking yourself is this: why are you still paying for an office you no longer use?
technology shift
If you’re a technophobe, you were forced to go to some uncomfortable places this year. Even some of the most old-school agents I know are fairly tech-savvy, but many more in that category still own fax machines. (Fax machines, in 2020?!)
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In March, I had to immediately close all showings and create a 3D tour of any listings I had if I wanted to sell them. When the showings stop, great photos and 3D tours are the only way buyers can see your clients’ properties. The open houses were conducted via Facebook Live or pre-recorded video walkthroughs. Social media, outreach and video information are now imperative. (Put your phone to the side while you do the walkthrough, fax machine Fran!) If you didn’t use an e-signature program for remote signing before, you probably all of last year were forced to.
We’ve had remote contract uploading for broker review for years, but some brokerages still haven’t caught on. This year they’ve had to slap together a system when they need it.
COVID Procedures
My family has always had a small bottle of sanitizer in the car ever since we had kids. Now we fill gallon jugs of the stuff for ourselves and for customers to use. Gloves, masks, shoe covers, antiseptic wipes—now we carry it all with us. The showing process alone was a deterrent for many agents and clients, but still perfectly manageable: fewer showings, fewer people coming through the listing, leaving the house as clean as we found it, removing door handles and counters. wipe. (I think this is something that should survive for years to come. It shows a huge amount of respect for the listing and those who live there.)
Another change was in how we close properties. From outdoor tents to drive-up closings, title companies responded quickly and put some of the best processes in place for physically signing documents in person in a secure way. While I don’t see the drive-thru closing, it was a great solution for keeping deals going when we needed it.
client shift
While we had the usual run of customers this year, we also had many remote employees fleeing higher priced downtown areas for the suburbs or cheaper markets. When Twitter announced on October 1 that all of its employees would be working from home permanently, many took the opportunity to cut up their expensive Bay Area leases and move to a much lower-priced market.
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If the world is your office, ties to geographic location break. People now have the freedom to live anywhere. It was already becoming an issue for city centers and hot markets like San Francisco. I think COVID will accelerate it. I don’t want to be an office/commercial investor right now, as many businesses are terminating their leases and cutting overhead on expensive office space. (See above: Are You Paying Your Brokerage for an Empty Office?) This created a great opportunity for referrals to network with agents in the most expensive and tech-focused markets, if their clients ran in our direction. Were staying
We have house hacking clients as well as smaller crews who are placing their bets that people in similar circumstances will be willing to pay part (or most) of their housing expenses if they own the property and share the space . Many more homeowners decided to stay in the home, refinancing, and completing major projects during their downtime. Almost everyone I know who stayed in place of garages, kitchens, basements and other repairs.
Bottom-line
So, while we may need to shift this year, I think most of us are better for it. It forced me to analyze the places in my business that needed to accelerate, use technology or automation, reach customers to reevaluate their needs, and even Also had to consider what exactly I am getting from my brokerage. Forced development is still development!
I guess a lot has changed this year, has staying power, while others will be back to normal sooner than later. The only thing I can guarantee is that once we get comfortable with the new normal, change will again knock on our doors in one way or the other. And this time we will be ready.
How has your business changed in the wake of the pandemic? Are they here to stay?
Share your thoughts with the comments below.
Note by BiggerPockets: These are the views expressed by the author and do not necessarily represent the views of BigPockets.
