4 Ways to Enhance the Home Search Process and Help Buyers Find Their Dream Home

House-hunters are always in search of a simplified process. Real estate technology, including search websites and apps, have made house hunting much easier and more accessible in recent years. Real estate pros can harness the power of technology to help their clients find their dream home. Here are four enhancements to help you win over buyers and get them into the home of their dreams.

1. Stand out on mobile

Did you know that 98 percent of text messages are read within two minutes? That's a 78 percent difference when compared to the average email read-rate. It's time to leverage text as a collaborative tool with your funneled leads and current clients! The iMessage extension for the realtor.com® iOS app was designed with this way of communicating in mind, making it simple to instantly share photos and listings within an iMessage conversation. Realtor.com® has made the process even more fun by giving users the option to call out what they like about the home with reaction stickers. Feel free to suggest homes that further highlight must-haves without navigating away from the text exchange.

2. Become the neighborhood expert

You're the local expert and it's time to strut your stuff! Highlight the community, local schools, walkability, and other hyperlocal neighborhood data that resonates with buyers and gives them the info needed to make informed buying decisions. With Market Snapshot® reports, you can automatically provide this local information as well as sign buyers up for price reduction and just listed alerts. Best of all, there is no pressure as buyers choose their engagement level.

3. Go virtual!

Now more than ever, you can experience tons of things without having to leave the comfort of your home. From ordering your favorite things by voice with Alexa to virtual dressing rooms, the options are limitless. It's no surprise that virtual reality has made its way to real estate and to your advantage.

Ninety-five percent of real estate professionals surveyed by Matterport said that using innovative technology helped them to beat the competition.

Now you can provide that open house feeling without actually hosting an open house! For widespread buyers, this is truly beneficial. You can offer that couple looking to relocate to your area a 3D tour without the additional travel cost. This technology also works for local buyers that may be too busy to schedule a home walkthrough. Best of all, you can integrate your Matterport 3D virtual tour with your realtor.com® listings and it can be viewed via desktop, iOS and Android. If you're not sure where to begin, here are a few best practices.

4. Find homes near preferred schools

How many times have you heard, "How are the schools in the area?" Plenty! In fact, it's more common for your buyer to have an exact school in mind. It was reported in April that "twenty-two percent of realtor.com® users ages 35 to 44 identified being near a good school as one of their top reasons to move. Nearly half of all buyers with children under 18 say they are influenced by the quality of the school district in their neighborhood choice."

School districts are a top determining factor for house-hunters when considering their future home. To show consumers they're listening, realtor.com® recently launched a new feature that allows home buyers the option to search for homes by school.

Simplifying the home buying process adds real value to clients and can lead to repeat and referral business. Follow ListHub on Twitter and Facebook for more real estate advice, online marketing tips, and much more.