Insights From Ali Ata: How Real Estate Professionals Are Using Tech to Serve Buyers

For many people, the pandemic has served as a catalyst to relocate to areas more conducive to their needs and lifestyles. As observed by Ali Ata, when stay-at-home restrictions were lifted, the housing market saw an increase in home-buying activity—particularly in suburban areas.

Real estate professionals are working hard to keep up with the demand and employ innovative ways to help their clients despite the pandemic's challenges.

Going virtual

In the past, it was rare for a person to purchase a home sight unseen. Today, it is rapidly growing more common, with a large part of the traditional real estate transaction occurring virtually instead of in person.

People may want to buy a home but may not want to physically tour it due to safety concerns. Ali Ata points out that at the same time, many sellers are not keen on allowing strangers to enter their properties during open houses and showings, even with masks on and social distancing measures in place.

Employing innovative thinking, real estate professionals are utilizing technology to facilitate real estate transactions. Conversations between real estate agents, buyers, and sellers are facilitated via video call apps like FaceTime and Zoom. Meanwhile, 3-D modeling is used to create virtual walkthroughs that allow homebuyers to see properties in detail and from multiple angles. Real estate professionals also use drone videos to give buyers an even more realistic and detailed first-person view of a property and give buyers a virtual tour of a home's neighborhood.

Ali Ata says homebuyers appreciate the convenience: instead of spending all day viewing three or four homes, they can opt to spend just a few hours taking virtual walkthroughs of a dozen or so properties.

While technology has been used in the past to enhance the real estate purchase experience, the pandemic has accelerated the adoption of such strategies. Ali Ata believes that they are likely to remain in use even after the pandemic is over. Given time, it may become common practice to use technology in delivering an entirely virtual home-buying experience from showing to closing.