Real Estate: In the 2018 ‘Disruptability Index’ Accenture highlights that – The future of all industries is disruption. This rings true when considering the shift in the local property market. Four years ago, Leadhome embraced change and launched a hybrid real estate agency. Met with mixed reactions, Leadhome CEO, Marcél du Toit, remains confident in his decision and says he would rather lead the change than follow it.
According to Du Toit, the shift in generational buying is a good example of how the market is experiencing a pull-disruption: “We are seeing consumer behavioural patterns influence how we meet their needs. Millennials, for example, are comfortable with technology. And they will likely use a smart device to search for houses, to research properties, and to communicate with agents.”
The shift not only comes in the home you buy but more importantly, how you sell. Du Toit notes that decades ago, the agent was valued for the information they hold regarding a property. Now, their value lies in their negotiation powers, their relationship-building skills and their ability to meet the evolving needs of buyers and sellers.
Leadhome’s tech-evolved approach sets the agency apart. By providing clients with 24/7 access to their own dashboard, they can monitor their property’s performance through the entire sales cycle: “We iterate on our tools and solutions to improve the services we offer to both buyers and sellers. We inform our decisions on customer feedback and always look at what the data says.”
There is a surge of disruption anticipated as a result of the current generational shift: “We can expect a vastly different market in five years with many different players as a result,” says Du Toit.