In the world of commercial real estate, technology is certainly nothing new. For many years now, technology has been at the center of commercial real estate, bolstering the industry to new heights. These revolutionary tools of technology have been used to help shape the face of commercial real estate, and it shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon.
And while we thought we relied on technology heavily before, one thing is for certain — no one could predict quite how heavily we would come to rely on technology in 2020 or the cause for its necessity. The global business market, including the commercial real estate industry, faced (and continues to face) an unprecedented worldwide event. COVID-19 has catapulted the entire world into a global pandemic, leading to situations unlike anything we have seen in our time before.
The pandemic has certainly led to changes in behaviors and how we get work done, but commercial real estate professionals are still able to work efficiently thanks to technology. Using technology, these professionals are able to still get their work done while also respecting their social responsibilities, by social distancing and safe practices.
With this in mind, let’s take a closer look at 3 tech tools that are helping commercial real estate agents continue to market their properties.
Virtual Tours to Enhance Market Listings
Virtual tours are leading the way in digital property marketing, but these definitely aren’t the virtual tours of yesterday. Today, CRE professionals are able to combine the powers of virtual reality and enhance three-dimensional modeling to not only improve the overall experience, but also bring this elevated technology to a wider audience. With the official guidelines provided by the President and the NAR advising real estate professionals to look for alternatives to traditional walk-throughs or showings, enhanced virtual tours are proving key to helping CRE agents close more deals — without exposing anyone to unnecessary risks.
Social Distanced Property Showings
Another way that technology is helping CRE professionals is the ability to show properties amid stringent social distancing standards. Self-touring technology is growing in popularity, which allows potential tenants the ability to tour a property on their own, allowing for increased cleaning practices between tours. Other teleconferencing platforms are also being used that can allow CRE agents to practice social distancing while showing properties. For instance, some agents sit in their car and join their clients on a video conference call as they tour a property. This allows them to follow all suggested social distancing guidelines, but still provide a personal touch to their clients while better understanding their needs for a property based on what they like or dislike about a specific property.
Streamlined Paperwork
Even in the midst of a global pandemic, it remains true that real estate deals require a significant amount of paperwork. Traditionally, this has been an in-person transaction, but thankfully, technology affords us tools for this, as well. Technology tools allow you to skip the traditional signing meetings and instead choose safer solutions, that include online messaging platforms, scheduling technologies, and electronic signature tools. In fact, nearly every single aspect of commercial real estate touring and paperwork can still be safely completed, using the latest in technology.
While no one is arguing that the COVID-19 pandemic is a global tragedy, it may just be the push necessary for commercial real estate’s widespread embrace and utilization of technology. These tools that are helping professionals pioneer today’s climate will likely become the very baselines for business tomorrow.
