The real estate industry is likely one of the more “analog” left in North America, and as much as we might try, sometimes it stills feels like the wild west. And many people inside and outside the industry have been advocating for more technological advancement in how we buy and sell residential real estate. The digital age is making changes slowly, but due to the nature of the industry and the processes involved, it’s likely to stay slow for some time.
A long time ago, I worked in the advertising industry and at that time, the industry was just on the cusp of change. The digital age of advertising had arrived just shortly after I joined the industry, and the ground was about to shift under everyone’s feet. But it wasn’t the change in ad spaces or ad spending that had the biggest impact, but rather how people in the industry bought and sold space.
Prior to this shift, the advertising industry was a people business, much like the real estate industry is today. I’ll admit it had already changed a lot since the “Madmen” era of the 60’s, 70’s, and 80’s, and for good reason; but through the 90’s and the first decade of the 2000’s (we signed the very first deal with Facebook in Canada in 2007), the industry remained very much a people business.
For deals to get done, people needed to know each other and trust each other.
The digital age not only changed the mediums advertisers wanted to purchase, but how they were able to buy them. Online platforms made it easy to book and pay for space directly, and very quickly digital advertising took the number one spot within most marketing campaigns. At the same time, conventional platforms like cable television watched margins start to shrink and launched their own digital systems to automate and cost cut.
And despite what some industry insider may have said at that time, this was real progress. The biggest problem the industry has ever faced, as coined by the great Henry Ford, was that “half of every dollar spent on advertising was wasted, but nobody ever knew which half”. The digital age not only gave advertisers the ability to target specific consumers, but also the ability to interact with them directly in their daily life. This is the marketers dream – and from a pure business perspective we are still living in the golden era for advertisers…. maybe just not for the advertising agencies.
There are of course winners and losers to all steps toward progress, but the biggest “loser” from my perspective at the time were relationships. As sales budgets were slashed and automation took over, relationships between buyer and seller became less valued.
And I’m not suggesting we stand in the way of progress by any means, but consider for a moment that roughly 15% of people meet their life partner while at work, and you can see that this shift has other real world consequences.
But back to my initial point; when will we see this sort of transformation in organized Real Estate?
Well, as I mentioned things are changing slowly, but there are three main reasons I don’t believe we’ll ever see the drastic shift evidenced in my advertising days.
- We sell private property – most people want oversight (from a real person) when selling their home and they certainly do not want an unaccompanied stranger in their home at any time.
- We work in an un-commoditized market – as opposed to buying airtime or ad space, literally every home is different, and despite what listings may look like online, you never know until you have boots on the ground.
- Bureaucracy – There is far more government oversight and intervention within organized real estate than most other industries, and if the “ArriveCan” app is any example of how we would end up progressing, I think we’d all agree that we’re better off with the status quo.
So, get yourself a great agent that offers unparalleled service… or better yet give us a call.
Want More Insights From TRG Experts?
Sign up here to receive Insights Magazine delivered to you. This resource is full of market advice and industry intuition from our team and colleagues to keep you up-to-speed on the ever-changing Toronto real estate market.
