Is Proptech the New Normal for Title Industry?

The real estate industry is cyclical. The Federal Reserve policy, spiking interest rates, and tight inventory, among other things, impacted the purchase market. Title companies, underwriters, and real estate inventors were forced to look for innovative ways to generate volume and reduce costs while adding value to clients.

Recently, proptech has been picking popularity in the industry as a solution to all of the above. Meanwhile, the argument has been going on that betting on technology now is an extra expense and the complete opposite of cutting costs. 

What’s the Deal With Proptech?

Technology is an investment. So the suggestion that it will require a financial push isn’t completely wrong. But it is an investment that yields results very quickly and continues to do so for years ahead, as we have seen in many other industries over the years.

Do you really think that you can avoid using new technologies and have the same results in the long term as the companies that are embracing them? 

The market’s cyclicity suggests volumes will pick up soon enough. Many real estate businesses that were actively cutting costs would most likely find themselves understaffed and unable to onboard the newcomers quickly enough to handle the volumes, thus starting the hiring-firing cycle all over again.

Now, if you leverage this new technology in the downtime, you will have more time to onboard new people, and you also won’t urgently need to hire whole teams. You will have enough room to adapt to change, and when the volumes pick up, you will be ready. 

Are Title Jobs at Risk?

The transformation that the real estate industry is undergoing now is similar to the transformation that the financial industry underwent in 2008. There are enormous opportunities for digitization and optimization, and forward-thinking companies are already capitalizing on them.

Proptech is emerging in a variety of shapes and forms. It can be title search, HOA documents acquisition, automated condo project review, payments solutions, or any other exciting possibilities on the market. There are opportunities to minimize human error, do more work with the same number of employees, and get back time to spend with clients.

Naturally, there are concerns. The “robots substituting humans” or the potential elimination of title and escrow job positions due to emerging technology has been very popular. And will most certainly NOT happen. 

We all know that the title industry is service-based. The technology, however advanced it is, cannot substitute human communication and explain to your clients what their options are and what the next steps should be. Robotic Process Automation (RPA) and AI, are meant to free employees from manual and repetitive tasks. Automation exists to empower agents to spend more time on personal communication and being there for the humans that need their help. Technology improves working conditions, it doesn’t eliminate jobs.

Taking Advantage of the Title Technology

As more and more companies search for ways to differentiate themselves in a competitive environment, many are developing new marketing strategies. For title companies looking to attract more clients or partner with more real estate brokers, leveraging technology and marketing themselves as tech-savvy companies can provide a competitive edge.

Showcasing how you use technology to eliminate friction in real estate transactions puts you out there for clients and partners. A real estate agent is more likely to recommend you to their clients when they know you have the technology to ensure that the closing process is seamless. 

This easy and streamlined home buying or selling experience is what can differentiate you on the market. And to continue riding the initial wave of tech-driven success, your marketing strategy should include telling the whole world how you do your job better by capitalizing on technology. 

Create success stories, case studies, comparisons, e-books, etc. to stand out and prove that you can do it better, faster, and easier than your competition.

Embracing the Change

You decide whether you are with the early adopters or laggards. In any case, we give about an 89% probability to the fact that you will start using proptech sooner or later. It is just that when you start sooner, you can actually capitalize on it in multiple ways. Want to start now? Talk to us.