The prominence of mobile technology is rapidly changing many industries, not least the property market. Danny Luke, Managing Director of Quick Move Now, explains the impact it has had on his property business.
Gone are the days of trawling through the properties for sale with your local high street estate agent. Now, house-hunters have the property market at their fingertips and can virtually view properties whilst on their daily commute to work, on their lunchbreak, doing household chores, or even in the bath with a glass of wine. They have the ability to set up alerts to notify them instantly when a house matching their criteria becomes available and can view the property details immediately, rather than waiting for the estate agent to send them in the post as they would have done a few years ago.
This ‘instant access’ availability has had a huge impact on the property market, especially in areas of high demand, where in some cases properties have gone ‘under offer’ without the buyer actually having stepped foot inside the property – the only information they’ve had on the property has been a virtual online tour and a property description put together by an estate agent.
Virtual, ‘on the go’ house hunting, via mobile technology takes all of the hassle out of searching for your new property. Potential buyers who may not have felt ready to sign up with a high street estate agent, can keep an eye on properties coming onto the market without any commitment, which means there’s always the potential of attracting an opportunistic buyer who you wouldn’t have been able to reach a few years ago before the widespread use of online property portals and the rise of mobile technology. A prospective buyer who was perhaps planning to move in the next year or so may decide to move sooner if they spot a property they particularly like the look of on an online property portal.
Today’s prospective buyer is one who is looking for speed and convenience, but with little commitment, and that’s exactly what the rise of mobile technology has brought to the property market.