Real Estate & TV: Life vs. Art?
Holly Schwartz (@hollyschwartzoc) is the Marketing Director for Torelli Realty, (@torellirealty) a boutique real estate company in Orange County, CA. She enjoys dishing up a daily blog about 365 Things To Do In Costa Mesa (“Like” the page on Facebook!) Prior to working at Torelli Realty she worked as a TV producer for the HGTV shows House Hunters and House Hunters International.
Once upon a time (earlier this year) I was a producer for HGTV, most recently serving as one of the directors of House Hunters. Some of you may be familiar with that program. One of the things I think is so telling is that in the time the show has been on the air (over 10 years) you can see the relationship between life and art. Many of the House Hunters reruns that air portray the home buying process as one where the buyers depend entirely upon the real estate agent. They trust the agent to find listings for them from the “MLS” and look forward to the printouts that the agent provides. The process of house hunting used to be very dependent upon what the agent could deliver. (See the video at the end for a little more insight on technology on TV real estate shows and in real life!)
Fast forward to the age of the tech-savvy client. So much of real estate listing information is on the Internet that almost anybody can find homes. The “MLS” is no longer an exclusive club that only special agents have access to. In fact at my real estate office we get calls daily from people who have found a home online and want more information.
When I watch old episodes of the show, home buyers were scavenging the real estate sections of the newspaper. In the recent episodes they’re searching online websites and newspapers. In the past buyers said they met their agent at an open house or by visiting the real estate office. Now you’ll hear buyers explain that they met their agent online and they established a relationship through email long before ever meeting in person.
One of the greatest things I got to experience was being at a shoot in Europe. An Irish family was looking for a vacation home in Italy and did all of their research online to find a real estate agent. I got to witness the agent and buyers meet for the first time in person during filming. Technology brought them together! That’s proof of the amazing things that technology is doing for REALTORS if I ever saw it.
I am so thrilled to see how technology is really bringing people together and enhancing the real estate industry more than ever before. Even watching real estate unfold on television is another great example of how technology, media, and real estate are all merging together.
In what ways do you think technology is enhancing the real estate industry?
Lani Rosales | Oct 29, 2010 | Reply
Technology is helping consumers make decisions more quickly and they have access to more information in a faster way (sex offenders, demographics, neighborhood info, google street view of the neighborhood), but it is also complicating the process because the value proposition of Realtors has been spun out of control.
We call it co-brokering with Google- buyers now second guess and verify all information with their agent and often look for affirmation of their own decisions. Technology and open source data has already changed the search process permanently and changed the expectations of buyers and sellers on agents.
Yorba Linda Homes | Oct 29, 2010 | Reply
Would definitely agree that technology has given a very large helping hand to the real estate industry as a whole, especially when buyers are concerned. From my personal experience, I would have to agree with gal from the video that buyers are now doing more research prior to even stepping foot inside of a house because they now have the tools to do some of the research at the comfort of their own home. As an agent technology is great!
Patricia Taylor | Oct 30, 2010 | Reply
Great article! Almost 90% of consumers are now searching online for homes. Once they decide where and what, then they communicate with the agent via emails as you mentioned, forming a relationship behind the “screen”, without the i inital, intrusive phone call. With all the information available to the buyer, a real estate agent can do a much better job concentrating on what the buyer wants in a property. The internet has given both parties, agent and consumer, information and tools,to be so much more efficient and to provide the customer service that the consumer expects.
When my buyers decide to come to our city and view the properties they have chosen, and meet me for the first time in person, we already know we will work together well, because of the relationship we formed months prior on the internet.
Home Staging Toronto | Oct 31, 2010 | Reply
I would actually love to be a real estate agent in Orange County! The weather would be so nice. technology is getting more and more people every day and now competition is only a click away.
Michael Becker | Nov 1, 2010 | Reply
Technology has definitely empowered the buyer, and in an age where finding the right realtor is key to your success in home buying/selling, it’s nice to have access to those tools.
House Hunter’s portrayal of realtor dependency does still hold true when it comes down to the actual buying/selling part of the process. Hopefully you’ve chosen a dependable, trustworthy realtor. I know we searched high and low to find someone as good as one of the agents on that show!
Alex Cortez | Nov 1, 2010 | Reply
I’d say that technology is changing the real estate industry as a whole. Now, consumers have access to data that was previously available only from the agent. So the value proposition of real estate professionals is more consultative rather than straight sales. Those who are able to establish authority and be able to be seen as trusty worthy Realtors will prosper.
Btw, I’m a HUGE fan of House Hunters. Great week of posts, Holly.
Mike Taylor | Nov 1, 2010 | Reply
How is technology not enhancing the real estate industry might be a better question. Buyers are more empowered searching for homes on their own. Although it is still developing they are also able to see comparable homes that sold in the neighborhood. Agents can connect with a worldwide audience, get signatures on a mobile device, etc. etc.
Mark Jacobs | Nov 2, 2010 | Reply
Great post, Keep up the great work
Rebekah Whiteman | Nov 19, 2010 | Reply
Hi, there. It’s a well written and an informative post. I think you perfectly highlighted how technology changed the ways people searched for homes earlier. In fact, the traditional ways of finding an agent hardly exists now. I agree with you that technology has made the communication process faster and easier. However, I think that people should cross check the information that is available on the Internet and it is advised not to blindly accept the facts. For example, a real estate agent’s online profile may include grabbing some great deals. However, it is recommended to check his/her credentials at real estate licensure offices to make sure that what he/she is saying is true.