Technology for Realtors®: Where to Invest

You know you need technology to run your real estate business.

But where do you start? Should you aim for top-of-the-line equipment or just the basics? According to Ryan Herbst, chief strategist for UnifiedCommunications.com, Realtors® should prioritize what technological investments they make.

In terms of hardware, the must-have tools are a great smartphone with high quality camera, a laptop and a business-grade Bluetooth headset with USB dongle allowing connectivity from either the laptop or a smartphone, advised Herbst. “High quality hardware is important to ensure you can reliably run applications like electronic document signatures, virtual reality and augmented reality, customer-relationship management, document scanning, social media, virtual meetings and showings and other key tools that support real estate in 2020,” said Herbst.

While there have been countless technological advancements that have impacted the real estate industry, Herbst said that smartphones and high speed data have been the most noteworthy. “They changed the game and support a mobile, highly efficient way of working. This has been a true game changer for the real estate industry.”

But you don’t need to spend a fortune. “We advise staying in the mid-range of the price spectrum,” said Herbst. “Innovation takes place at a very fast clip and not over-investing allows for more frequent upgrades.  This applies to headsets, laptops, smartphones and other core technology. The high end generally provides small incremental differences that are not worth the additional cost.”

Yet, Herbst recommends investing in a good headset, noting it “makes all the difference in the world.”

“Technology changes so fast and it can be very hard to keep up,” said Herbst.