Being a real estate agent is a very demanding career. Some of the real estate agent duties in the US housing market include:
- Generating real estate leads
- Advising clients on mortgages, prices, and housing market conditions
- Conducting comparative market analysis using market data
- Creating listings of properties for sale with information on location, square footage, features, etc.
- Showing properties to potential renters and buyers
- Presenting purchase offers to sellers
- Facilitating negotiations between sellers and buyers
- Promoting properties with real estate listings, ads, and open houses
- Preparing rental agreements, purchase agreements, deeds, loyalty contracts, and other paperwork required for real estate transactions
These tasks can be time consuming and overwhelming, especially for new real estate agents. Real estate software and tech tools can help in the automation of tasks and enhance productivity greatly. Real estate technology can come in handy for a wide range of tasks including real estate lead generation, forecasting, and real estate business organization. Some of the essential tools for real estate agents are free, while others require a monthly fee.
Best Real Estate Agent Tools
Here are the top 11 realtor tools successful real estate agents are using to make their work (and lives) easier in:
1. HelloSign
Want to be able to close more real estate deals and in less time? Believe it or not, electronic signature tools can be a big help in achieving this goal. It can take a lot of time for a real estate agent to manually gather all the necessary signatures for closing documents. And if those real estate deals fall through, you’ve just wasted a lot of precious time. Using real estate agent tools like Hellosign will ensure this is not your problem. HelloSign is quickly becoming a favored electronic signature software among real estate agents in the business. It has built-in integration with DropBox and other useful apps as well as Sales Agreement templates.
2. Showing Suite
When planning for open houses, many agents struggle to organize notes, lockbox codes, and contacts. Showing Suite automates and integrates showing schedules as well as agent notes, feedback, videos, and pictures for each listing. This real estate agent tool syncs with Sentrilock and Supra eKey lockbox software. Having all the information in one place saves energy and time when preparing reports for sellers.
3. Mashvisor (Comparative Market Analysis Software)
Of course we were going to add Mashvisor on our list of the best real estate agent tools. That’s because Mashvisor is a unique comparative market analysis software (CMA) that automatically pulls real estate comps for any listing on the platform making CMA a breeze for real estate agents.
Related: Comparative Market Analysis: A Real Estate Agent’s Guide
Working with a real estate investor client? Well, this real estate agent tool also comes with an investment property calculator that will help you analyze property using metrics such as listing price, rental income, expenses, cash flow, cap rate, cash on cash return, and rental occupancy rate. You can then easily share the Property Analysis Report with your client to show them that you’ve found an investment property for sale with a high return on investment.
4. RealGeeks
RealGeeks is a customer relationship management (CRM) software that makes it easier to optimize follow up calls and emails for existing customers and online real estate leads. This CRM software comes in handy for effective engagement with customers, while helping you visualize their journey along the way.
5. RPR Mobile
Using RPR Mobile, real estate agents can access the Realtors Property Resource property database. This real estate agent tool provides data such as demographics, flood maps, and attendance zones. This makes it an easy and fast way to look up neighborhood and property information and submit branded reports to sellers and buyers on the go. You can even create ‘mini-reports’ for your new leads.
6. Zumper (Rental Listing Tool)
This is a great tool that allows residential real estate agents to present their listings in an easy to search, attractive site. Besides combining the great features of several rental apps into one, Zumper also runs rental applications and Experian credit reports for your potential renters.
7. Everlance
Most agents spend a lot of time exploring new housing markets or touring listings with real estate clients. Everlance is a great mileage tracking tool that helps agents monitor their costs, remain IRS-compliant, and maximize their tax deductions. You can classify trips as personal or business, export Excel and PDF reports, and monitor trips using GPS. Everlance comes in a basic free version and a premium paid version.
8. KeyMe
Getting copies of house keys is one of the most frustrating things for real estate agents. Instead of borrowing a property owner’s keys and rushing far to make a copy, KeyMe allows you to take a photo of the key and then make a copy at the nearest KeyMe kiosk. If you happen to lose a key, the picture you have saved can still be used to make another copy. This means no more lockouts…ever.
9. FreshChat
Real estate leads will want to get an almost instant response when making an inquiry online. FreshChat can come in very handy when it comes to providing just that. This is a great way of capturing real estate leads (especially millennials) who don’t like emails or phone calls. This tool is free for up to 10 real estate team members.
Related: A Guide for Effective Communication with Your Real Estate Clients
10. Qualia
This is a settlement software that coordinates closings among clients, title agents, and brokers. Besides being integrated with underwriters such as First American and Fidelity National Financial, Qualia allows homebuyers and agents to monitor investments and the status of closing via mobile and web apps. The software comes with a wide range of packages for brokerages.
11. Mashboard (AI-Based Lead Qualification)
Mashboard is a real estate agent tool that helps agents qualify leads instantly by leveraging big data and predictive analytics. Simply enter a real estate lead into your database and the software will gather all the data available including their budget, method of financing, and more. You’ll then get a score that tells you how likely this lead is to make a purchase. No more spending hours gathering information and interviewing leads.
This tool also comes with the Property Recommender feature that utilizes artificial intelligence (AI) to find the right property for your qualified real estate leads with 90% accuracy. Think of it as a kind of lead nurturing tool- you’ll be able to send branded Property Reports to your leads to get them to convert in no time.
And if you have a client that is always looking for off market properties, Mashboard is also a great tool for finding off market real estate deals for your customers.
Related: How Property Agents and Investors Are Leveraging Big Data
Honorable Mentions for Top Real Estate Agent Tools
Of course, there are so many other great real estate marketing tools and tech tools for real estate agents including:
- BombBomb
- Dotloop
- Propertybase
- Amitree Folio
- Grasshopper
- Buffer
Using the best apps for real estate agents will help you stay ahead of the competition and boost your productivity. Be sure to train your team properly so they can use the new real estate tools to their full potential. Using the best real estate agent tools effectively will boost your real estate agent career and contribute to growing your business.