New technological tools are revolutionizing the real estate industry, helping professionals work with higher efficiency and building better relationships.

Buying a home is one of the most important decisions made in a lifetime. Buyers understandably want to explore every prospective house in detail and experience it in full before making a choice. As a result of the fast-paced and hectic life, more and more people today are making use of online platforms during this long and eventful process.

Almost 57% of prospective home buyers start their search by looking up real estate listings online, making a website an important channel. Having a strong online presence therefore vital to ensuring that you engage productively with website visitors.

An online portfolio on the website providing details of the property and its photographs help prospective buyers to get an idea of the options available. This is just the first step as it is extremely static.  Buyer’s busy schedules can make things difficult, so much so that it often becomes a roadblock. This is where technology can be leveraged to solve the problem, both for the realtor as well as the buyer.

Real-time video chat offers innumerable benefits for real estate, by expanding the range of services while improving the efficiency of the process for both the buyer and the real estate agent:

1. Offer superior customer service support to website visitors: When prospective buyers visit your website to view your online property listings, it provides a golden opportunity to interact with them and make the experience richer. Customers can use Click-to-Call video functionality to connect instantly to customer service support to discuss. Additional features like co-browsing which allows screen-sharing are a great way to navigate and explore listings on the website together to identify properties of interest which helps the agent develop a better understanding of the customer needs and thereby build a strong relationship.

2. Easy transfer of images and documents: Even during initial phases of a property search, dozens of documents such as property images, specifications, legal documents etc. are required to be shared. Real-time applications having instant content and file sharing features ease the process, helping customers do more while even as they are browsing your website.
   

3. Deliver personalized virtual tours and video-walkthroughs: With video-chats via a mobile platform, prospective buyers will not need to travel long distances and take time out to view properties. The real estate agency can conduct virtual tours through the house, helping the buying quickly decide if the property can be shortlisted or not, making it a highly efficient process. Real-time Video-walkthroughs using video chats are a personalized way for an agent to let the buyer experience the features of not just the house but also its surroundings, the neighborhood etc.

4. Expand your reach to other markets: Most often than not, realtors cater to customers within a restricted geography. This is because the in-person aspect of viewing properties is vital to the process. With video chats and co-browsing, this is no longer an issue. By using collaborative browsing, a real estate professional can help the buyer, whether located overseas or in another state, to identify suitable properties. Customers can then make use of the video chat feature to “see” the properties. Many in fact choose to make an offer after experiencing the property through a video-walkthrough alone.

5. Uninterrupted connectivity via mobile platforms: Real estate professionals have to necessarily be often on-ground visiting their properties. Having a technology that ensures integration of the mobile channel is therefore very important. Co-browsing and video-chat facility is seamless integrated with the smartphone platform, ensuring that wherever you are you can provide top-notch service to your customers.