Modern technology is revolutionizing real estate at an exponential rate. We’re seeing powerful new CRMs, transaction management software that changes the way deals are closed, virtual and augmented reality–supported home showings, and artificial intelligence helping agents build relationships with clients. All this tech is enabling the real estate industry to make data-driven decisions and increase the relevance of personalized recommendations simultaneously.

While beneficial in the long run, these technologies can drastically change every facet of the real estate business and, in doing so, might cause some unintended turbulence within growing real estate teams. Some are already on board, seeing the benefits these new technologies can offer. Others aren’t so sure. With any major shift in process, you may be hesitant to change the status quo. Fortunately, there are three key pillars that can increase successful tech adoption in your organization no matter how technology-averse your team may be.

1. Focus on framing the opportunity. Asking your team to overhaul critical aspects of how they work will likely trigger some pushback. However, this is your chance to encourage a shift in mindset. Rather than focusing on the perceived loss of a current process, get them excited about the potential of a new one. For example, a new marketing automation software can help keep their leads warm and deliver educational emails without the administrative time that manual efforts require. Once you’ve invested in a new tool, document how it will streamline workloads and how to use it properly before your team attempts to use it. The goal is to nudge them toward being confident users; by padding their onboarding with clear directions about the intention and process of the tool, your team will be off to a positive start.
2. Build a better learning environment. Ensure your team gets the training they need by delivering it on their terms—making training available where, when, and how they want it. This means no more uninspired “how to” documents. With the convenience of digital training manuals and the capability of storing, organizing, and managing information in the cloud, your team can access information in more engaging formats, such as text, audio, and video. You can also “gamify” training by adding quizzes at the end of each training or build in feedback loops so they can ask questions in real time. By providing the same documented training to all team members, you’ll guarantee a consistent experience and be able to get new agents up to speed quickly.
3. Give your team ownership. Training doesn’t have to fall completely on your shoulders as the team leader or manager. Most technology providers today will equip you with a customer success manager who will help onboard your team. As your team goes through this process, empower them to document procedures. This gives them ownership and improves engagement throughout the process. This level of ownership helps create internal advocates who will get other team members excited about the tech and all of its capabilities. Divide this up amongst the team and encourage them to get creative with videos, images, screencasts, or audio. In doing this, they’ll be motivated to train one another on the areas they covered. It also helps ensure that knowledge isn’t all housed in one person’s head, which can leave you in a vulnerable position if they ever move on to another company.

New training software solutions also enable businesses to easily assign future training, manage onboarding automatically, and instantly see who has completed a training plan. This helps to identify who is up to speed and who needs that extra nudge. By tackling a new implementation together, your team will be more likely to embrace onboarding and help their colleagues get up to speed.

The winners in real estate moving forward will increasingly rely on the collaboration between people and technology to deliver tangible results. Amidst this industry shift, using training and documentation software is one concrete way to ensure everyone is along for the ride.

More consumers are flipping homes again, but investors are acting differently than they did during the housing boom. Short-term investors are focusing more on adding value than speculating on prices, according to a new report from CoreLogic, a real estate data firm. CoreLogic defines a home flip as the purchase of a property with the intent to sell within a two-year period for profit.

macshack – Morguefile

The U.S. flipping rate was 10.9 percent of all home sales in the fourth quarter of 2018. Flipping rates vary significantly across the country and tend to be highest in Sun Belt metros and lowest in the Rust Belt metros, with some exceptions. Eight of the top 10 metros with the highest flipping rate in the fourth quarter of 2018 were in the Sun Belt region, with Birmingham, Ala., Memphis, Tenn., and Tampa, Fla., leading the pack. Two of the top 10 were also in the Rust Belt—Camden, N.J., and Philadelphia.

CoreLogic reports the metros with the highest average flipping rates, as of the fourth quarter of 2018:

• Birmingham, Ala.: 16.5% (flipping rate)
• Memphis, Tenn.: 16.2%
• Tampa, Fla.: 15.1%
• Las Vegas: 15%
• Camden, N.J.: 14.9%
• Phoenix: 14.8%
• Palm Bay, Fla.: 14.1%
• Philadelphia: 14%
• Lakeland, Fla.: 13.9%
• Atlanta: 13.8%

On the other hand, the metros with the lowest average flipping rates were Austin, Texas; Bridgeport, Conn.; and Hartford, Conn.

Flipping is becoming less risky, the report notes. Flippers are focusing on adding value to the properties they buy before reselling. Further, “we’ve seen growing signs that flippers are getting increasingly good at buying properties at a discount while the premium they’re selling for has remained mostly constant,” the report notes. “This is yet more evidence that flipping today is less risky and less speculative than during the 2000s.”

The metros with the highest median returns on a flip are:

• Detroit: 95.9% (flipping return)
• Philadelphia: 92.8%
• Pittsburgh: 75%
• Cleveland: 70%
• Akron, Ohio: 65.7%
• Baltimore: 63.6%
• Buffalo, N.Y.: 62.3%
• Wilmington, Del.: 60.1%
• Toledo, Ohio: 59.4%
• Milwaukee: 58.9%

The recent plunge in mortgage rates may help the market for home loans surge to a 14-year high, according to recent housing forecasts. In the past month, mortgage rates have posted their biggest drop in a decade, with the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaging 4.08 percent last week, according to Freddie Mac’s weekly mortgage market survey.

The rate decline has enticed more home buyers to enter the market, prompting mortgage demand to reach its highest level since the fall of 2016. Mortgage applications jumped 18.6 percent last week as borrowers rushed to lock in lower financing costs. Mark Watson, director of forecasting for mortgage advisory firm iEmergent, predicts $1.2 trillion in home lending this year, which would be the best year since 2005. “We think the lower mortgage rates will create a huge push, partly from millennial buyers,” Watson told HousingWire. “That is going to support strong growth in home sales over the next several years.”

iEmergent projects a 3.9 percent increase in total home loan volume this year. That’s more optimistic than other forecasters, such as Freddie Mac, which is predicting a 1.5 percent increase in total mortgage lending for 2019, and the Mortgage Bankers Association, which predicts a 1 percent gain.

But the threat of higher mortgage rates is diminishing. The Federal Reserve announced at its January meeting that due to a slowing economy, it does not plan to raise its short-term key interest rates again this year. Therefore, mortgage rates will likely stay low for a while, which will bode well for the housing market, Watson says. “The benefits of the decline in mortgage rates that we’ve seen this year will continue to unfold over the next few months due to the lag from changes in mortgage rates to market sentiment and ultimately home sales,” says Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist.

© iEmergent