Home topics small-business-resources industry Industry Real Estate Industry How real estate agents can embrace new ways of selling through tech Matthew McGrath July 12, 2018 The Australian real estate market is in a major state of flux. Property prices nation wide have just plunged for the ninth month in a row, with fewer and fewer competitive bids at auction leaving many real estate agents scratching their heads on how to survive this upcoming turbulent period. Instead of backtracking and figuring out how to merely survive, real estate agents should be looking at new ways to thrive, no matter the market condition. Digital technologies and online models of buying and selling will mark the next frontier for real estate agents looking to futureproof against external market forces. Just because the market is suffering, does not mean agents must suffer too. Technology is the tool that real estate agents must embrace to increase their confidence and control in selling properties, working towards an ultimate goal of improving saleability in any market condition. Technology: the key to agents’ futures No longer can real estate agents rely on tactics in the physical realm, such as advertising on billboards or dropping flyers in to letterboxes. As digital technologies continue to bombard the real estate industry from every angle – from international incumbents, to a ‘sharing economy’ style of selling property that seeks to cut out the agent’s role altogether – agents must look to online, connected models to extend their reach and create more targeted