The real estate industry is undergoing a significant transformation. Real estate agencies and departments are contending with a gradual increase and a risky global economy, as well as the pressure to boost revenue while controlling expenses. The critical question is how they can deploy resources to address these challenges cost-effectively while supporting the company’s dynamic needs.
It is no surprise that Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) has garnered momentum in the real estate industry over the last few years. Real estate firms are mainly turning to BPO outsourcing companies to lower costs, increase focus on core competencies, enhance service consistency, escalate efficiency, and gain access to sophisticated technology and best practices.
Real estate service outsourcing providers are moving from transactional process offerings to assuming advisory, strategic roles traditionally performed in-house by real estate firms. These functions include market research (forecasting and occupancy analysis), management of leased portfolios, strategic planning, and workplace design. Corporations also ask BPO companies to develop strategic operating plans to improve returns for investors.
This blog post will tackle how companies can gain cost-efficiency through real estate outsourcing. But before that, we will also go over the necessary and substantial details related to real-estate outsourcing.
Without further ado, keep on reading!
What is Real Estate Outsourcing?
It is the process of contracting a BPO provider to provide real estate services such as finding and listing properties, conducting property tours, and managing the sale or lease of real estate. Outsourcing can save the business money by lowering its real estate costs. Additionally, outsourcing can free up employees to focus on other tasks, increasing efficiency within the company.
Why is the real estate sector suited to outsourcing?
- Businesses in the real estate industry have quickly adopted new technology, adjusting to the digital realm by interacting with clients online, using online applications, payment portals, advertising apps and utilising specialist cloud-based software. Exciting as that sounds, it requires expertise and skill to ensure these systems run smoothly. Still, remote teams, who specialise in rendering precisely that kind of support to a wide array of industries, are exceptionally well catered for that skill set.
- You can do loads of work at any time, which means it is not limited to business hours, although a good BPO company will provide you with people who can perform to your hours if you want to.
- Your in-house team is always on the move, and they’re accustomed to working with their managers, support staff and colleagues while on the road, staying in touch and organising essential processes. Working with remote teams will be relatively easy.
What are the benefits of real estate outsourcing?
More value for your time
One of the most valued assets in the real estate industry is time. Agents can acquire income by selling as many houses as possible. Easier said than done. You invest endless time in doing back-end tasks daily but only partially contribute to the end goal. Delegating this means you can better spend your time selling more properties and earning more commission.
Increased efficiency
Real estate outsourcing will be able to increase your overall efficiency. This is because it enables you to focus on your core competencies and leave the rest to the experts.
Saving money and resources
Outsourcing can be a great way to save money for practically any business, real estate included. Using expert and trained individuals to handle less important tasks can help you save a substantial amount of human resources, money, and time.
Tasks such as preparing advertisements and brochures, posting on blogs, and updating the client database and website are usually by either an office staff or an agent who needs to be paid wages, sick leave, holiday pay, plus access to office spaces, and computer resources. Offshoring requires none of this and is, therefore, much more cost-effective.
Access to the latest technology
You will have access to the latest technology when you outsource your real estate needs. This is because real estate outsourcing companies are always up-to-date with the latest trends and technologies.
Improved quality of service
You can assure that you will receive high-quality services through real estate outsourcing. This is because real estate outsourcing companies can provide a higher level of service since they specialise in this area.
Growth
Real estate agents can dedicate most of their time to tasks that drive the business forward by being relieved from parts of their jobs that are usually time intensive but vital in generating leads through outsourcing. These duties include sending emails and letters, finding out about the market, and observing sales.
Outsourcing these activities means the agent can efficiently add leads to their database. The agent only now has to follow up with potential or reactive clients who meet with the agent’s follow-up interest/respond to the communication.
Flexibility
When you outsource your real estate needs, you can enjoy a high degree of flexibility. You can choose the services you want and tailor them according to your specific needs.
How Real Estate Outsourcing Helps Attain Cost-Efficiency
Outsourcing has become a popular way for businesses to save money and increase efficiency. When it comes to real estate, there are many ways that outsourcing can be beneficial. Here are a few examples.
Reduced labour expenses
By hiring an outside firm to handle some or all of your real estate needs, your business can avoid the need to hire and train in-house staff. This can lead to significant savings on labour costs.
Talent acquisition and hiring costs
Instead of spending a lot of money on finding the right staff onshore, an outsourced team from a BPO company makes it possible for you to get started as soon as possible.
Training costs
Professionals from an outsourcing company have years of experience and are highly skilled in their niche, such as the real estate industry. This lessens your time and resources to invest in training your offshored team.
Fewer employees to pay
Companies are required to pay their employees even if they don’t have much work to do at the moment. You also must spend money on payroll taxes and employment benefits such as travel allowance, medical insurance, and pension plans.
However, hiring employees on in-house teams can be a risky investment. They could leave your company anytime, even after you’ve spent their onboarding and training. And once you lose staff, you would have to invest even more to replace them.
But with outsourcing, you’ll only have to pay for the price of the service package you chose, which already includes the agents’ payments and training. You don’t need to worry about employee benefits and taxes.
Cut out on infrastructural expenses and capital expenditures
When businesses outsource real estate functions, they often no longer need to maintain large office spaces and need to purchase expensive equipment and software. This can lead to significant savings on infrastructural expenses and capital expenditures.
Office spaces and rentals costs
As your offshored team does not consist of in-house staff, you don’t need to worry about expanding office spaces, renting real estate or paying for utilities (electricity, internet connection, etc.). Instead, your outsourcing arrangements cover all these costs for your company.
Software and equipment pricing costs
BPO outsourcing providers regularly update their software and equipment to stay ahead of the competition. This enables you to take advantage of the top-of-the-line tools and technology for real estate services at a fraction of the costs you need to pay if you invested in them yourself.
Management of properties
Hiring a third-party provider to manage your properties can save you time and money. These companies specialise in property management, so they can take care of all the details for you-from finding tenants to collecting rent payments. This will free up your time so that you can concentrate on other aspects of your business.
Maintenance and repairs
Keeping up with the maintenance and repairs of your properties can be costly and time-consuming. However, if you outsource this work to a third-party company, they can handle it for you. This will save you money on repairs and your own time.
Marketing
If you need to improve at marketing or need more time, outsourcing this task can be very beneficial. As such, some companies specialise in real estate marketing, and they will be able to see your properties seen by more people. This will lead to more interest and, ultimately, more sales.
Outsourcing is a great way to save money and increase your real estate business efficiency. However, if you are not taking advantage of it, you miss many potential benefits!
Real Estate Tasks You Can Outsource
- Digital Marketing
- Virtual Assistance
- Accounts payable
- Graphic design
- Arrears management
- Customer service
- Auction campaigns
- Bookkeeping and accounting
- Bank reconciliation
- Lead generation
- Collateral development
- Video editing
- CRM management
- New management
- Diary management
- New tenant administration
- Invoicing
- Property in-residence inspections
- Just sold / just leased campaigns
- Rental payments
- Listing packs
- Tenancy renewals
- OFI management
- Early terminations
- Payroll
- Water invoices
- Routine inspection administration
- Vacating tenants
- Social media management
- Management terminations
- Tenancy application processing
- Insurance claims
- Trust Accounting
- Contractors and service partners
- Court preparation
What are the most frequently outsourced real estate roles?
- Administration Coordinator
- Transaction Coordinator
- Listing Coordinator
- Property Consultant/ Coordinator
- Marketing Coordinator
- Lease Consultants
- Billing and Collections Specialists
- Project Manager
Top Trends for Real Estate Outsourcing
- The increasing popularity of real estate outsourcing
- Outsourcing 4.0 – This is a new model of corporate real estate (CRE) outsourcing. It consists of a new way of forming a collaborative relationship with service companies that use state-of-the-art technology such as data analytics to streamline and standardise property management and drive better market performance.
- The growth of the sharing economy
- The rise of the millennial generation
- The popularity of sustainable living
- Better quality control
- Cost-effective solutions
- The development of companies that specialise in specific parts of the real estate process.
What are the common mistakes to avoid with outsourcing real estate services?
- Not doing your homework in researching the potential BPO provider
- Not checking reference
- Unclear about what you want from the outset
- Not properly assessing the need for a specific real estate service before committing to an outsourcing agreement
- Subpar in ensuring that all parties involved in the deal are capable of fulfilling their obligations
- Cutting lines to communicate and follow up
When should you consider real estate outsourcing?
You know you need assistance with your real estate business needs if:
You and your staff manage an array of tasks that you can’t accommodate
Sometimes, you or any of your employees manage tasks beyond your skills and job description. This is a sign that you need an additional workforce and someone who can do the job for you fast and with expertise.
You keep asking yourself, “Do I need to employ additional employees?”
If you’re doing some tasks and you often catch yourself saying, “Somebody else can do this for me”, or asking yourself, “Should I hire someone else to do this for me?” you’re in dire need of outsourcing.
You’re having difficulty doing a task
Let’s say, for instance, you decided to study digital marketing but need help grasping the whole concept. As a result, you often see yourself scratching your head and always doubtful of your attempts to advertise your listings online.
If you’re like this, outsourcing is ideal for you. Not only does the burden of the task get lifted off your shoulders, but you also get advertising services with definite results.
You sacrifice time for crucial matters to finish other tasks
You want to learn how to boost the presence of your listings in the online space, but since you have little digital marketing expertise, you still need to allot a significant time to cover just the basics. In turn, you end up sacrificing time for some of your other tasks, which could be better for your business.
Conclusion
In conclusion, real estate outsourcing provides a cost-efficient solution for businesses of all sizes. It is a viable option for companies to outsource time-consuming tasks, allowing them to focus on core business activities and maximise their operations. Outsourcing has proven to increase customer satisfaction, reduce overhead costs, and create a higher level of specialisation. Through real estate outsourcing, businesses can create a competitive advantage while ensuring their customer service needs are met. It is essential to assess each business’s specific needs to find the best cost-efficiency solution.
Are you looking to embrace outsourcing for real estate needs? Then, the Lead Enquiry is the right choice! Connect with our reliable BPO service provider partners to leverage the benefits to their full potential! Contact us today.
