8 Benefits of Outsourced Property Listing Solutions for MLS

The real estate industry is witnessing steady and structured growth, having successfully navigated multiple cyclical depressions. Growing urbanization and a consumer-driven market are driving high levels of standardization and efficiency in real estate operations. The property business has come a long way from discussions and information sharing on rental and sale properties by real estate agents at association offices. Or for that matter print ads in local classifieds.

Multi Listing Services (MLS) are the industry response to consumer demand for transactional efficiency, information at fingertips, and a one-stop, all-encompassing solution for every property need. It is an amalgamation of every property and appraisal-related information from every broker or real estate agent across regions.

This access to a mega listing of detailed property data makes it very easy for buyers and sellers to identify the property of their choice. With a plethora of information on properties and fluctuating markets it also offers wider search options across the globe in a cost-effective way. Many listing platforms also offer extra services as you can look for an interior designer, legal consultants, renovation services, and many such property-related services.

But it is not as simple as it looks. The efficiency of the MLS depends on the quality and accuracy of listing data. Real estate is a dynamic and competitive market, aggregation and update of the latest MLS data have their own set of challenges.

Why property listing management is a challenging task?

MLS struggles to have accurate listings on their portals. Any deviation impacts the credibility of the MLS provider and eventually hits revenues. And secondly being a highly competitive sector, the listing needs intensive promotion.

Some of the property listing challenges include:

1. Competitive marketing space

Real estate being an overly saturated market presents heavy competition and locking in listings is a challenge. Realtors face competition from other agents, inexperience, lack of information, growing listing portals, etc. To get listings in the competitive market is challenging but marketing strategies like social media, e-newsletters, websites or blogs, SEO optimization, etc. implemented carefully can help achieve success.

2. Building a property-relevant database

MLS is all about the database. Building a robust database is a very important and valuable asset in the real estate industry. Considering the dynamic nature of this sector where the market, valuation, rent, property availability, etc. fluctuates, it is a challenge to maintain the relevance and accuracy of the database. Hiring property management services handling property valuation, predicting market trends, etc. will keep your data relevant.

3. Managing costs to generate leads

Lead generation especially in a sector like real estate is challenging as this is a big investment, customers are skeptical, and getting conversions is not easy. So, your marketing strategies need to be approached with the best of technology to attract potential customers. With global saturation in social media and a boom in digital advertising, real state players need to have a budget for the crucial activity of lead generation, retaining, and finally converting.

4. Low-listing inventory

Managing property inventory is a big challenge in the real estate industry, especially in the current scenario. The total housing inventory is down by 18.8 % according to the National Association of Realtors. There are more buyers in the market and fewer people listing their properties; there is a need to find ways and means to attract inventory.

Benefits of outsourced property listing for MLS

Property listings are time-consuming depriving realtors of focusing on their core tasks and operations. Outsourcing it to real estate specialists improves profitability and empowers you to focus on core revenue-generating activities. Engaging with a property listing solutions provider with sophisticated technology and tools proves beneficial.

Some of the benefits of outsourcing property listing are listed below.

1. Accelerated transactions

Property transactions involve multiple activities and paperwork in and around title transfer, insurance, agreement of purchase and sale, lease agreement, power of attorney contracts, and so on. Doing it in-house mandates hiring extra manpower, maintaining infrastructure, and so on. Outsourcing these activities to service providers offering process automation, operational efficiency, and scalability leads to service innovation and accelerated transactions.

2. Accurate listings

Accuracy is the backbone for real estate listing websites. Validating information and posting accurately on the site requires automation, time, and skill. Creating a database involves data collection, data verification, updating data, research, backup files, and much more. Outsourcing data verification services to service providers with updated technology and proven methodology to check data accuracy guarantees the accuracy of listing data.

3. Improved seller score

Improved seller score builds trust with customers and increases the visibility of your listings. Seller score depends on product and service quality and therefore you need to work on both these aspects. Many factors help improve your seller score like the quality of listings content, accurate information, pictures, information on the property, uploading videos, answering queries, etc. All these aspects can be outsourced to a third party which helps increase your seller score.

4. Hassle-free periodical listing update

Your listing should reach your potential buyers. Even though your listings have all details a buyer would need including valuation, pictures, etc. but if they are not reaching the potential buyers, it is of no use. Promotional activities if outsourced to agencies specializing in this field, offering customized property listing solutions based on your need helps with your visibility in the relevant market.

5. Faster and efficient searching

Efficient real estate prospecting is important to generating new clients. Opening sales funnels and reaching out to potential prospectors using various marketing tools is time taking but essential. Letting the prospecting experts do this job for you leads to faster and efficient searches. They have well-defined strategies to initiate and develop potential customers and move them through sales funnels till they convert.

6. Search-engine optimized content

SEO strategy is important to sell a property. Optimization strategies turn your website into a trusted and reliable platform with more organic traffic and higher ranking by search engines. This is a specialized job that is best outsourced to experts specializing in website optimization. Investing in SEO gets you better leads, more inquiries, and higher conversions.

7. Increased focus on your property niche

It is important to focus on your property niche to help your business grow. Focusing your business as a specialized provider builds credibility with your clients and establishes your brand identity. Instead of focusing your efforts on every opportunity, you need to focus on your property niche. Outsourcing your other tasks to specialists in the field will help you focus on your niche better and optimize gains.

8. Cost-efficiency

Real estate document processing, real estate data entry, etc. are labor-intensive and expensive if done in-house. Outsourcing helps you save on infrastructure, technology, and team cost and get access to skilled resources, time zone benefits, and quick and efficient property listing solutions. It increases efficiency and enabling real estate companies to focus on core areas leading to revenue gains.

Conclusion

Real estate is booming and so is the competition. A Multi Listing Service system works efficiently by centralizing listings and giving licensed agents and brokers access to properties available in the market. The system works in the favor of all; buyers, sellers, agents, and consultants. But with the volatile nature of this industry and technology advancement, maintaining the accuracy and promoting the listings can be a challenge.

Outsourcing property listing solutions including prospecting, real estate listing, agreement contracts, research, database management, email campaigns, social media campaigns, blogging, SEO, etc. can help you with more time and energy to focus on your core activities driving business growth.

Chirag Shivalker heads the digital content for Hi-Tech BPO, an India based firm recognized for the leadership and ability to execute innovative approaches to data management.