Introducing DX-promotion issues in the real estate industry, 6 cases, and 5 DX promotion tools

In this way, many people may not know more about DX in the real estate industry.

However, in the real estate industry, in-house DX promotion and IT technology are promoting operational efficiency.

In this article, we will explain the current state of DX in the real estate industry, which is attracting attention due to the corona crisis, and five carefully selected tools that can be used for real estate DX.

Current status and issues of DX in the real estate industry, which is attracting attention due to the corona crisis

Below is a diagram showing the purpose of promoting DX within the company.

More than 90% of the total answered that they are “promoting DX” in some way. About 60% of the DX awareness survey in the real estate industry conducted by six real estate tech companies and one organization in June 2020 answered the same. I’m here.

As for the purpose of promoting DX, the largest number, about 85%, is “improving operational efficiency”. The recent increase in remote work and non-face-to-face customer service has led to the introduction of web conferencing systems and electronic contract systems.

As the movement of digitization accelerates due to the influence of the new coronavirus, the real estate industry is also facing the major challenges of using big data and promoting DX to improve operational efficiency and productivity.About 50% or less of companies that have introduced DX in the real estate industry

Looking at the results of the “DX Awareness Survey Questionnaire” conducted by Itanji Co., Ltd. for 115 companies in the real estate industry, about 60% of the total have already worked on DX, and the remaining 40% have not yet worked. I understand.

In particular, by company size, more than 50% of companies with 100 or less employees have not yet or do not plan to take action, with the reasons given being “lack of knowledge and know-how” and “insufficient human resources.” was the answer.

It is necessary to firmly understand the necessity of promoting DX in real estate sales and proceed efficiently.

Analog system that prevents conversion to DX

Although the conversion of the real estate industry to DX is an urgent need, it will take a medium- to long-term period to transform the current analog system.

Some say that it will take another 3 to 5 years to effectively utilize tools in the process of buying, selling and leasing properties, and to achieve operational efficiency. In addition, in the real estate industry, paper-based customer service and contract materials are often used in the actual workplace.

If you rely on analog operations, your business may become unsustainable in the future. In addition, there is a possibility that the number of workers will decrease more than now due to the decrease in the number of new graduates and resignations due to the aging population.

However, changes such as the rapid shift to paperless operations and the use of tools to attract customers can cause confusion in the workplace. It is necessary for everyone from upper management to on-site employees to understand the necessity of DX, and to gradually change the current system

3 benefits of promoting DX in the real estate industry

The following are the three benefits of promoting DX in the real estate industry.

1. Work style reforms through operational efficiency
2. Increased opportunities to acquire new customers through virtual previews, etc.
3. Resolving the shortage of human resources

I will explain each.

Work style reforms through operational efficiency

In addition, increasing the number of online operations will reduce the number of opportunities to go out for face-to-face customer service, and it can be said that it will also play an active role in developing a telework environment that allows people to work from home.

Increased opportunities to acquire new customers through virtual previews, etc.

By promoting DX, it is possible to create new business opportunities. For example, you can increase your chances of acquiring new customers by marketing to remote prospects through virtual previews. In addition, the expansion of web content will increase the number of inquiries and realize online customer service.

The promotion of DX will greatly change existing business models and at the same time will lead to corporate profits.

Resolving the shortage of human resources

If DX can reduce the work burden, the necessary manpower can be reduced. If we can carry out the work with fewer people than at present, it will eventually lead to a solution to the shortage of human resources.

In addition, creating a comfortable working environment contributes to the creation of a workplace where everyone wants to work and makes it easier to attract excellent human resources.

Initiatives of the Real Estate DX Promotion Committee

From here, we will introduce the two main initiatives of the Real Estate DX Promotion Committee : digitization of explanations of important matters in real estate transactions and centralization and effective use of real estate history information .

Electronic explanation of important matters in real estate transactions

The DX Real Estate Promotion Association was established with the aim of fully digitizing real estate transactions and improving the living environment and convenience of life.

In addition, from April 2021, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism has approved the digitization of procedures called “important explanations” that explain rights relationships and flood risks.

In addition, we plan to promote the use of electronic signatures, the design of housing history information using BIM, the unification of IDs for property information, and the maintenance of real estate history information.

Centralization and effective utilization of real estate history information

Centralization and effective use of real estate history information is important for DX in the industry.

If you can centrally manage all categories of internal information, such as customer data and business know-how, you will be able to streamline all operations, such as inquiry processing.

In addition, the effective use of history information has great potential to lead to the creation of new business models, so it is essential to promote the centralization and effective use of real estate history information in DX in the real estate industry.

Efforts of the Real Estate Tech Association

In promoting DX in the real estate industry, I would like to wear the efforts of the Real Estate Tech Association. Here we introduce the efforts of the Real Estate Tech Association.

What is Real Estate Tech Association?

First of all, I will explain about the real estate tech association.

The official name is “General Incorporated Association Real Estate Tech Association”.

It was established with the aim of promoting the fusion of real estate and technology, promoting the sound development of businesses related to real estate and the real estate industry, and contributing to the improvement of the national economy and people’s lives as well as the promotion of public welfare.

In order to contribute to the above purposes, we are engaged in the following activities.

• Investigative research and dissemination of information on real estate tech (real estate x IT) business
• Standardization of real estate tech (real estate x IT) business and establishment of rules
• Training and guidance for real estate tech (real estate x IT) workers
• Various activities to create business opportunities
• Activities and events for information exchange, collaboration and cooperation with related organizations in Japan and overseas
• Cooperation, proposals and requests to national and local governments, etc.
• Business incidental or related to the business listed in the preceding items

Real estate tech chaos map

The Real Estate Tech Association has published a real estate tech chaos map.

The chaos map below is the 7th edition chaos map published in July 2021. In the real estate industry, we are gathering businesses that provide services and products, so let’s use it to promote DX in the real estate industry in the future.

3 successful cases of DX in the real estate industry

From here, we will introduce the following three successful cases of real estate DX.

1. Mitsui Fudosan: Smooth online viewing with the introduction of AI cameras
2. Ai Home: Number of Contracts Increased by 128% with No-Code Strategy at Virtual Exhibition Hall
3. Spacely: Realizing online previews with VR technology

I will explain each.

[Success Case 1] Mitsui Fudosan: Smooth online preview with the introduction of AI cameras

• Until now, the challenge was to respond only to direct previews and to customers in the distance.
• → Introduced the AI ​​camera “OPTiM AI Camera”
  to check the situation inside the building from a distance, and to smoothly view the inside of the office building by graphing the number of visitors, gender, age group, etc.

[Success Case 2] Ai Home: The number of contracts increased by 128% with a no-code strategy at the virtual exhibition hall

• The number of visitors to the exhibition hall has fallen to about half of normal due to the corona disaster
• →Introduction of smartphones is now possible with the opening of the virtual exhibition hall
  Compared to April last year, the number of contracts increased from 18 to 20, and in May it increased from 11 last year to 16. The
  number of contracts increased by 128%.

[Success Case 3] Spacely: Realizing online previews using VR technology

• Developed an online preview service that allows you to view panoramic images of rental properties from your browser
• In addition to improving the experience of prospective users, we aggregate clicks and stay times
  → measure which rooms and photos users are interested in, and improve the closing rate and reaction of properties

[Success Case 4] Kazusaya Real Estate Co., Ltd.: Improving the quality of telephone support

• There was a fear of not knowing the contents of the phone calls and mistakes in agency work, and I felt burdened by the analog work of distributing special memos and entering the contents of the memos into Excel every day.
• → When I felt that there was a limit to how much I could handle over the phone, I was introduced to Kaikura (a CTI tool that integrates automatic call recording, voice-to-text, incoming/outgoing call history,
  customer information management, and SMS) to support phone calls. reduce the burden on employees and improve the quality of phone calls

[Success Case 5] GA technologies: Certified as a DX brand

• Certified as a DX stock in the “DX Survey 2020” jointly conducted by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and the Tokyo Stock Exchange
• → We have comprehensively digitized the real estate transaction process, such as the digitization of documents and contracts, the digitization of telephones and faxes, and the online application and examination of investment loans. Demonstrating overwhelming superiority ahead of other companies in the real estate industry, such as providing excellent customer experience

[Success Case 6] Hiro Corporation: Making telephone operations more efficient

• The increase in response time for property confirmation during the busy season is seen as a problem, and it is a major hindrance to the improvement of services.
• → With the introduction of an automatic answering service that responds to telephone calls, 60% of incoming calls can be answered automatically, and the time spent answering telephone calls can now be devoted to other core tasks, resulting in more contracts, attracting customers, and working styles. improved

DX Promotion Seen from Mitsui Fudosan’s 2020DX White Paper

Mitsui Fudosan’s 2020 DX White Paper describes “business transformation” that aims to improve customer satisfaction and solve social issues in promoting DX, and “work style reform” to improve productivity and employee satisfaction. We have summarized the focus themes and promotion examples for each area of ​​the “promotion infrastructure” that should be developed.

The main contents are as follows.

We believe that the promotion of DX is essential for the realization of services based on people’s actions such as “working”, “living” and “enjoying”, and we have written the current progress of DX and focus themes.

Mitsui Fudosan DX Promotion Case

From here, we will introduce the following three cases as examples of promoting DX at Mitsui Fudosan.

1. Supporting the creation of new workplaces for customers with satellite office services that utilize ICT
2. Proposal and implementation of logistics solutions utilizing ICT
3. Next-generation hotel “sequence” utilizing the latest ICT technology

I will explain each.

[Promotion example 1] Supporting the creation of new workplaces for customers with satellite office services using ICT

• Utilization of ICT in “Work Styling”
• →Example: Employees can easily reserve conference rooms and private rooms from the web page
• Develop a LINE mini app (a web application that provides services on LINE) for easier check-in
• Developed a satellite office specializing in private rooms where you can use a private room that supports web conferencing suitable for telework

[Promotion example 2] Proposal and implementation of logistics solutions using ICT

• Automation and efficiency are essential in the logistics industry, where demand is rising and labor shortages are serious
• →Implement solution proposals utilizing ICT together with logistics facilities and aim to solve customer issues
• Logistics ICT hands-on showroom “MFLPICT LABO 2.0” opened Exhibiting a “fully automated logistics model” that requires no human intervention

[Promotion example 3] Next-generation hotel “sequence” utilizing the latest ICT technology

• Providing sensitive guests with free time and ways to spend their time ・“SMART” and “OPEN” based on the philosophy of “gentle connections”
• A next-generation lifestyle hotel based on the three concepts of “CULTURE”
• → Guests pre-register on the app. Facial recognition and non-face-to-face self-check-in are possible
• Japan’s first facility where you can do everything from check-in to unlocking with just one facial recognition
• A face recognition system is also used to open and close the “self-cloakroom” for guests, providing a smarter hotel stay

3 points to make DX successful in the real estate industry

The following three points make real estate DX successful.

1. Understanding the policy and importance of DX throughout the company
2. Secure IT talent
3. Speed ​​up the PDCA cycle and improve work efficiency

I will explain each.

Understanding the policy and importance of DX throughout the company

Promoting DX requires not only the cooperation of each business division, but also top management’s awareness of change. We must clarify what kind of value will be created and how to change the current system, and change the mindset of the entire company.

The promotion of DX will not be an immediate success, but rather a medium- to long-term project.

Secure IT talent

Companies often lack IT human resources, so it is important to secure and develop IT human resources who are familiar with promoting DX.

In addition, it is necessary to place the right person in the right place for the human resources involved in promoting DX. Even if we can secure human resources with a wealth of knowledge and experience in DX, reforms cannot proceed unless they are able to demonstrate their abilities.

In order to make DX successful, it is necessary to not only train and secure IT human resources, but also to appropriately allocate the IT human resources necessary to build a system in line with the project.

Speed ​​up the PDCA cycle and improve work efficiency

If you turn the PDCA cycle quickly, you can discover problems in the current system at an early stage and lead to improvement actions.

After introducing a system, it is not uncommon for the latest system to become obsolete and to be overtaken by competitors. It is necessary to constantly improve problems and incorporate new technologies after tackling them.

Recommended for real estate DX! 5 carefully selected tools

From here, we will introduce recommended tools for promoting DX in real estate. Here are the five tools we will be using:

1. Email Dandori
2. Forest
3. SpaceCore
4. sms hunter
5. nomad cloud

I will explain each.

Email Dandori

This is a housing loan business efficiency service.

25% reduction in time spent on mortgage related tasks. Able to concentrate on business activities. We select the most suitable financial institution according to the customer’s creditworthiness, such as megabanks, regional banks, credit unions, and flats, and proceed with the home loan screening process. There are merits such as eliminating the complexity of the mortgage business and delays in the construction period by using it, and attracting customers for the mortgage.

function

• Chat function
• Schedule function
• Task sharing function

price

inquiry

Forest

It is an intermediary sales tool.

Equipped with a function that allows you to manage customer information from a single email address. You can easily upload the customer list you have been using so far, so you can switch between business flows and system migration smoothly.

You can quickly edit the drawing PDF on the spot even if the customer suddenly comes to the store. Obi is also automatically prepared, and it supports 3 patterns with different sizes. Edited files can be converted from PDF to JPEG or PNG format.

function

• PDF editing
• AI-OCR/Automatic Character Recognition
• Customer/property management

price

• Free plan for individuals: 0 yen/month
• Paid plan for individuals: 8,000 yen/month
• Paid plan for small teams: ¥15,200/month

SpaceCore

It is a service that can convert all residences into smart homes, regardless of whether they are newly built or existing, collective or detached houses.

In addition to linking smart speakers with all the equipment and home appliances that will be necessary for future homes, we also support security and child monitoring.

function

• Smart home function
• Life service function
• Relation function

price

inquiry

sms hunter

SMS Hunter is a service that specializes in long-term prospective customers through SMS (Short Message Service) on mobile phones and smartphones.

Send step mails to prospective customers’ mobile phones with SMS that has a high opening rate and keep in touch continuously.

In addition, a landing page (LP) that accepts inquiries is also set. Even end-users who tend to avoid phone calls can contact us with just one click from the LP inquiry form.

function

• 300 manuscript samples for real estate business
• SMS delivery with an open rate of 90% or more
• Long-term auto follow-up by step mail

price

inquirynomad cloud

It is a system that captures all reactions and immediately notifies the smartphone app.

In cooperation with the real-time broker site “ITANDI BB”, the vacancy status is automatically checked and schedule adjustment emails are automatically sent. Block lost opportunities for out-of-hours inquiries. In addition, the customer-only My Page function prevents users from leaving the portal site.

function

• Customer behavior log analysis
• Automatic capture and notification of reactions
• Customer-only My Page function

price

Contact Us (free to use)

summary

This time, I explained about real estate DX. How was that.

In the real estate industry, where there are concerns about a delay in DX due to the analog system and a decrease in sales due to the impact of coronavirus, there is an urgent need to build a DX system that allows you to complete a rental contract online with just a smartphone.