With the viral pandemic looming over everyone’s head right now, many industries and businesses are taking a hard hit. Hong Kong’s real estate market is no exception. Previously amongst the top booming and thriving markets in the world, the struggle for those who work in the industry is real. Realtors and agents find themselves facing an ever-increasing amount of uncertainty with businesses, families, and property investors holding back from purchasing decisions and unit visits in light of the COVID-19 outbreak. Despite the economic downturn, real estate agents and agencies that are able to swiftly adapt their businesses and tools to the new reality will stand a better chance at surviving the current market situation – and even thrive. This is where technology and data come into play to help real estate agents and agencies brave the global pandemic, come out on top of their competitors, and ultimately, close deals faster.
How is the current COVID-19 epidemic impacting the Hong Kong real estate landscape?
Hong Kong’s property market outlook is looking grim as plummeting stock prices, job losses, and fear of contracting the virus have eaten away at investors’ and buyers’ purchasing power and intent to invest in new properties. Consequently, real estate agents’ commission-based salaries have dropped by about 66% in the exacerbated market slump, forcing many to resign and even quit the industry entirely. Furthermore, according to Cushman & Wakefield, February’s transactions for newly launched property and lived-in homes declined 13% from 2019 to just 3,572 deals, reaching the lowest monthly tally in four years.
Yet, it’s not all doom and gloom. There is still room for closing deals in the property market as shown by Wheelock Properties’ recent sale of 90% of its units on offer (187 out of 208 flats) at the Ocean Marini project in Tseung Kwan O. In fact, the substantial discounts and the trending lower interest rates recently given by the financial markets, have given Hong Kong homebuyers a window of opportunity for lower mortgage payments, thus leading to the strong demand for this property project. As a result, there were 3,800 registered buyers, which translated to 18 potential customers for every available unit. As impactful and uncertain as the global pandemic is, Hong Kong real estate agents and agencies can remain competitive provided that they drive their business strategy forward amid the current financial landscape with tact.
Agents should seize technological and data opportunities to capture market share and prosper in the current real estate market
As the saying goes, in the midst of chaos, there is also opportunity. Real estate agents and agencies across the world are looking for creative and effective ways to sell homes during the coronavirus outbreak. As an agency or realtor, one might be facing the challenge of closing deals when the traditional sales process is no longer efficient. One solution to having a powerful impact on agencies is to leverage specialized technological tools.
As an example, Seattle-based brokerage, Redfin, has recently started using a tool to allow prospects to take virtual home tours with their agents through video chats, helping to mitigate concerns around spreading the virus. Other firms, such as Ideal Properties Group or Brown Harris Stevens in the United States, are also following suit by offering virtual as well as private tours instead of traditional open houses.
Further, strategies real estate firms can adopt to empower agents should focus on elevating the customer service, nurturing their database, and effectively managing existing deals. Software solutions should make it easy for real estate agents to manage their marketing, deals, customers, prospects, and communication within a single platform, all with the ultimate goal of boosting sales.
Introducing a unique, sophisticated yet easy-to-use real estate CRM system
Property Raptor, the latest all–in–one real estate CRM software, is designed to specifically address all those concerns and redefine the next generation of sales processes in the industry. With multiple cutting-edge features such as custom multi-level property visualization and AI-powered client-property matching, realtors can target, nurture, and convert individual prospects at the right time.
For firms which are experiencing a slowdown in activities, now is also a great time to implement a new system and train employees on how to make the most of these tools. Management can even leverage these opportunities to ignite much needed culture change, promulgating customer-centricity and addressing pain points in their organization through digital solutions. Even in a morose economic environment, enterprising industry players have a chance to streamline internal processes, deliver exceptional experiences to customers, and create exciting opportunities for themselves in the market while mitigating ongoing and future risks.
Property Raptor is designed to fit all types of business sizes: maximizing features at an unbeatable price. Our mission is to bring world-class technology to our clients, at an affordable price, that will help them drive up revenues and cut down cost. Get in touch with a representative today to understand the solutions we offer and secure your free trial to see how Property Raptor can help you score more wins.
Schedule a demo here or contact us at [email protected].
