For the real estate professionals who connected on RISMedia's most recent webinar, it's clear that homebuyers will search out the services that best meet their needs. In some cases, this may lead some consumers to iBuying. This shouldn't be viewed as a negative, rather an opportunity to bring an additional value proposition in-house.
During RISMedia's webinar—"How to Include iBuying in a Full-Service Brokerage Model"—panelists Nikki Coppa, managing broker at CENTURY 21 Award; and Derek Taylor, vice president of product technology at JPAR Real Estate, discussed this very topic.
The webinar was moderated by Paul Sessum, master coach and team leader at Workman Success Systems. Additionally, zavvie served as sponsor of the event.
"Today, if a buyer has really deep pockets they can make some really big, bold moves, but it's just crazy if you're using the traditional model, that's why we want to talk about solutions to that today" said Sessum.
Here are some things the panelists had to say about the benefits of including iBuying in a full-service brokerage model:
Convenience
One of the main points driven home during this RISWebinar was the convenience that iBuying affords your clients, as well as yourself as an agent. The convenience of just going online and finding the home of your dreams is real and legitimate, and no serious real estate professional should overlook it.
"Clients are going to find all of their real estate options online, whether you give them to them or not," said Taylor. "You just need to be sure you're the one giving options to them."
An added benefit that iBuying affords prospective clients during a pandemic is safety. Homeowners, in particular, don't want people going through their houses right now, so this offers buyers and sellers the perfect solution.
"The iBuyer concept is very, very sexy to consumers," said Coppa. "However, in our Southern California market, very few people are actually going to go through with an iBuyer offer, but they still want to see it."
Expand Your Territory
As an agent, you're working within a certain area. Whether it's Kennebunkport, Maine or the New York Metropolitan area, you have certain limits to where you can, or are willing to, help consumers buy and sell homes. With iBuying as another arrow in your quiver, you greatly expand the territory in which you work.
"People have said for years that traditional agents won't survive," said Coppa. "Yes, we have. We have boots on the ground, we know our product and our clients. We have to adapt and we will because we know what’s out there."
By adapting, you'll be able to capture some of the homebuyers that are moving to your area, that you may not have if you had avoided iBuying altogether.
"When speaking with agents, it's pretty easy to discuss bringing in new products with them," said Taylor. "We have a pretty small measuring stick that we measure everything by and that's productivity and service. By asking you to adopt a new product, we're going to make sure that it helps you be more productive and provide a higher level of service. iBuying is a no-brainer for us."
For more on the benefits of including iBuying in your brokerage model, watch the full webinar below:
To view more webinars from RISMedia, subscribe to our YouTube playlist.
