Softwired Blog Selling Real Estate in the Digital Age

Real estate brokers have been selling and buying properties for clients for more than 100 years. Traditionally, properties were listed for sale in newspaper ads and the industry relied on them for decades. Reports by the National Association of Realtors (NAR) show that in 1981, 22 percent of home buyers read newspaper ads to find a home; today, over 90% of home buyers searched online during their home buying process. With Covid forcing a need for social distancing, the real estate industry was pushed to move even more toward digital technology as part of the selling and buying process. Apps that help buyers to search for properties and online listings with virtual tours are likely to remain the norm going forward. Buyers have realized that it is faster to narrow down their search by comparing properties online – often before they contact a real estate agent for help. The advantage to all this information is that buyers often know more about what they want before hiring an agent.