AI in Real Estate: Helping Agents Drive Sales

Using AI tools in real estate can help agents make more accurate predictions and drive sales. Real estate is an industry filled with high stakes and high rewards. It is an industry where predicting outcomes is extremely valuable. A quick overview of the industry shows us that real estate agents play a major role in the sale of property in the United States. 

“When we look at the Real Estate Industry in the United States we find that 89% of the purchases are made through real estate agents,” says Sofiya Vyshnevska, co-founder of PropertyMate, an AI platform helping real estate developers and agents alike and one of the most accomplished female entrepreneur in the Ukrainian startup community.

As a highly-regarded business development expert and entrepreneur, Vyshnevska shares some insights on how AI-platforms have disrupted traditional methods of real estate sectors. 

According to her, those who can use AI to anticipate rent and sale price fluctuations or identify the perfect timing for selling a property will have an unprecedented competitive advantage over others who do not.  “This is an industry where the use of AI tools and platforms can play an essential role in predictive analytics to accurately assess property value. Furthermore, they can enhance communication to drive better decision making and intensify lead generation,” the talented real estate expert stated.

Setting an asking price for an above-average property isn’t an easy task as agents are accustomed to standard methods of evaluating the property, for instance, they tend to use the property’s size, the number of rooms, renovation quality, and other common features to set the right price for an average home.

However, these indicators will not help in setting the right price for a luxury home, as most of them are often custom-made artsy projects with unconventional designs. Therefore, they are harder to evaluate as the emotional factor plays a major role in price setting in such situations.

Hence the use of Machine learning techniques to assess even the most sophisticated interior details that actually make the sales. AI can make this emotionally directed sale a little less complex and a little more accurate. 

Vyshnevska stressed that the real estate industry today requires a more sophisticated and larger data pool. According to Vyshnevska, even expert realtors tend to set their prices based on intuition and their personal experience, rather than definitive data. This intuition-based method is not at all accurate as it is impossible to guess the non-linear relationship between the property and its desirability. 

AI, on the other hand, can find hidden non-linear relationships between data and property desirability. For instance, a recent study by McKinsey shows that grocery stores within a quarter of a mile tend to increase property prices.

Every real estate agent dreams of the ideal client, while clients often dream about houses they can’t afford. AI tools and apps can also have a special CRM that has the ability to analyze thousands of attributes to distinguish customers with real intentions to buy a property from those who are browsing out of curiosity.

Moreover, the algorithm can identify what type of property the customer is looking for. This allows agents to save time and effort by dealing with customers that match an agent's niches. 

For every agent, creating the first impression is of utmost importance according to Vyshnevska. Most of the time, communication plays an enormous role in creating a first and lasting impression with a client. “The client today needs to know that they can trust you. They should know that you will be there for them when they choose to buy or sell a property. You can start a new connection in the right way by giving a first impression clients can trust,” she said.

Vyshnevska says that the trend in client behavior is shifting. “Today people want agents who they can trust, their rapport with the agent is what mostly helps in driving the sale, hence the need for effective tools that can help agents prepare well before meeting the clients is essential.” Perhaps more AI tools in the real estate industry are just what agents need to add more value and convenience for their clients.