Four Ways Technology Helping Homeowners Sell in Athens, Georgia!
To say that 2020 and 2021 have been different would be an understatement. The pandemic has thrown our lives upside-down, including the real estate market. Suddenly, something as common as viewing a home is not possible anymore, and Athens sellers have felt the sting.
Does that mean that sellers should simply wait around for this time to pass? No, sir, the market is thriving and home listings are flying off the websites in Athens. Technology has filled in the gap left by the pandemic, and with the help of online platforms, hashtags, and Zoom, homes are selling left and right.
Listed bellow are the Four Ways Technology Helping Homeowners Sell in Athens, Georgia!
- Online listings
One of the huge breakthroughs for the real estate market that has empowered buyers has been the ability to go online and research listings for yourself. You don’t only need to rely on the real estate agent to show you the houses they want or think you’d like. You don’t rely on them to tell you the pricing. You can just hop on Zillow and check out the market for yourself. That gives people greater trust in the process.
Of course, it also gives the seller a lot of different tools to entice buyers. The way the house is presented is extremely important, so the ability to take and upload high-quality images or present an attractive description is extremely important.
It’s also a very convenient service. Buyers don’t have to waste time driving around, hoping to find a house they love and want to buy. The search and initial veto process can happen entirely online, so at the end of that, they are fully informed and ready to buy.
- Social media & hashtags
But it’s not just traditional online listing websites that are doing the job. Social media has proven to be an extremely useful tool for Athens sellers. Any platform that enables you to broadcast the property to a large public is great for the selling process, because you’re getting more eyes on the listing and potentially attracting more buyers.
Facebook and Instagram are excellent mediums for this because of their visual nature. There are dedicated real estate groups where sellers can post their properties, along with photographs, videos and descriptions.
A great idea is to post them under certain hashtags. That’s going to help buyers find your listing under #Athensrealestate for example, or #Athenshomeforsale. Just because an open house isn’t possible right now doesn’t mean that sellers aren’t getting crafty about getting eyes on their listing.
- Zoom-ing with real estate agents
Weird times call for weird measures, and the pandemic has offered no shortage of weird circumstances when it comes to real estate. In absence of in-person meet-ups to discuss properties, what’s the next best thing? Phone calls, but even better – Zoom meetings. Zoom has really saved us in 2020, and it’s been a huge part of the buying process.
In circumstances where buyers might have otherwise held off on purchasing a property, the ability to video call with real estate agents, buyers, sellers, and other key players in the buying process has helped sellers tremendously.
The ability to talk to someone face to face, even if remotely, and potentially discuss properties, goes a long way to make the purchase feel real.
- Video or virtual viewings & walkthroughs
Perhaps the most impacted part of the buying & selling process has been the ability to view a home. Without being able to see the house, many buyers would be put-off and probably apprehensive to pull the trigger on such a big purchase, sight unseen.
Thankfully, virtual viewings through Zoom have saved the day. Sellers are able to film walkthroughs of their properties in order to post online and give buyers a feel of what the home looks like. In the case of interested potential buyers, the seller or real estate agent may provide another online viewing during a call, to showcase other details of the home.
Think about real estate agents walking through a home, showing it to their client on Zoom – that can be the winning viewing. Not to mention the inspection and appraisal, which have also been done remotely in certain areas.
What’s the bottom line?
While a traditional buying and selling process is preferable to most, sometimes it just isn’t possible. Whether it’s because the buyer is far away with no ability to travel or there’s a pandemic going on, sellers have had to find creative ways to sell their properties.
Although technology has proven to be a huge help, with online platforms, photographs, videos, and live Zoom calls, there is just no substitute for a great real estate agent. After all the technology Realtors pay for and use every day in their business is cutting-edge and cost-prohibitive for anyone who isn’t using it for their business. Why wait to sell your property or buy your dream home, when you can just reach out to a Realtor and have them leverage their technology on your behalf?