One of the things that attracts so many people to real estate in the first place is that it is a dynamic industry. Yes, the principles of the industry are firm. But at any given moment, the markets themselves can vary wildly. One minute, supply dramatically exceeds demand. Seemingly overnight, the inverse is true. Today, commercial real estate is hot. Tomorrow, it might be all about single-family homes.
Thankfully, we don’t necessarily have to guess where the industry might be headed. By paying attention to the cutting-edge technological advancements reshaping things in the short term, we put ourselves in a better position to accurately predict what the long term might look like. At that point, we increase the chances of capitalizing on a trend before anyone else can.
This insight also puts you in a better position to master every real estate transaction you’re a part of. That’s why it’s important to use a new year as a new opportunity to brush up on certain techniques that will help drive tremendous results in 2024 and beyond.
The Rise of Digital Platforms
If you want to be successful at a real estate transaction, you need to make sure you’re entering into the right types of transactions in the first place. That’s what modern-day digital platforms excel at.
There are options out there aimed at B2B professionals that help businesses find and lease commercial properties. Others allow you to take a photo of a house and instantly find relevant information about it, including compiling any interior images if they are available.
The point is these platforms can help you better locate the transactions that are actually going to help you achieve your goals. The transactions that you’re best suited to win in the first place. You won’t be “throwing anything at the wall to see what sticks.” That can help you get some initial success to act as a foundation to build from later on.
The Impact of AI-Driven Analytics
Mastering any real estate transaction is all about making the best decision you can, given the facts of the moment. Most seasoned industry veterans will tell you that while gut instinct and intuition have value, they can only get you so far.
You need to know where the market has been to understand where it’s going. You need to know as much as possible about who you’re dealing with and what they need. You have to know the development plans for the local area for the next five years. All these things impact how you should act in the present.
Wading through the sheer volume of data required to arrive at these insights is a major, time-consuming challenge. Thankfully, AI in real estate is finally ready for prime time. The types of analytical tools that many agents already use can process years of historical data and current, real-time information, allowing those insights to rise to the top. Not only will you know exactly what you’re dealing with in a situation, but you’ll know faster than ever. At that point, all you have to do is act.
Enter the Blockchain
The blockchain can help real estate professionals like yourself in a large number of ways. For starters, it helps guarantee total visibility over every transaction. The buyer, the seller, and other relevant parties are recorded permanently in the digital ledger.
The blockchain can also give you access to a larger volume of potential investors thanks to principles like ownership fractionalization, can help you use things like process automation to reduce costs, and can even help you improve the efficiency of your business daily.
Why Negotiation Skills Matter
Successful negotiation is all about finding common ground with the person you’re dealing with. That’s crucially important in real estate, and if you want to start mastering transactions, you’ll need to hone your negotiation skills first.
Don’t be afraid to think outside the box and take a novel approach to that goal. If someone doesn’t give you a deal on a property you’re trying to buy, see if they can assist in another way – like contributing to closing costs. If you’re trying to sell a home, see if you can negotiate a few home repairs to sweeten the deal.
Negotiation isn’t just about the sticker value of the property alone. A myriad of elements are in your control to some degree. Understanding what those are before you ever get to the negotiation table is the key to using them to your advantage.
The Sustainability Era Has Arrived
To give yourself a better chance of mastering real estate transactions in 2024, you’ll also want to prioritize the elements that people consider to be important. Case in point: sustainability. The more you can show that you’re making efforts to reduce your carbon footprint, the more attractive you’ll be to younger people.
Likewise, eco-friendly homes are a hot commodity on the market. If you prioritize making them a part of your portfolio, you’ll already be entering into a transaction from a position of power when it comes time to sell.
It’s also important to note that real estate is also in constant flux from internal factors. Case in point: the ever-evolving regulatory climate professionals must deal with and their impact on transactional procedures. This includes dictating how transactions must be executed and what types of transactions are acceptable.
Constant Improvement and Learning is Key
No matter what, never let yourself fall into the trap of believing that you’ve “done enough” to master real estate transactions. Yes, you’ll do a lot of work to generate excellent results today. But as the market and the industry evolve, your methods must do the same. That will require more effort and more education on your part. This is a natural part of the process. What will separate you from your competitors is your willingness to continuously improve while they choose to stagnate.
Ultimately, real estate is and will always be in a constant state of disruption. But it’s important to understand that this is only bad if you allow it to become one. The more you understand the shape the disruption is taking, the more likely it is that you’ll be able to use it to your advantage. Again, this natural evolution is a big part of what attracts a certain type of person to real estate, and many of them have successful careers to prove that the effort is worth it.
