Robots, tablets, web sites increase sales, lower home selling costs
One California real estate company saves money by using a tablet-like robot named REX to answer 75 preprogrammed questions for home buyers. Agents rather still let buyers into the homes rather than robots.
Another company uses a web page for each of its home listings to make them stand out from multiple listings on a single website.
Browsing habits are also tracked, helping a company identify a buyer's income, location, and spending habits. Ads are then targeted to help qualify rather than identify prospective buyers.
For example, if a buyer spends time checking a home pool or schools, that buyer will get more ads for homes with pools and schools in the same area.
By using these techniques, companies hope to reduce their sales force while increasing sales and reducing commissions charged to buyers of between one and two per cent.