The agile approach has been adopted across the business world.
Whether it’s aeronautics, education, or ecommerce, there’s arguably no industry that wouldn’t benefit from implementing the agile framework to boost productivity and free up teams’ creativity.
Naturally, real estate is another industry in which the agile approach could have a huge transformative effect, but many real estate firms are still seemingly reluctant to adopt agile methodologies.
Here are just some of the ways that an agile approach could benefit a real estate business. Read on to find out how your real estate firm could improve its workflow, team structure, and more!
Agile can free up real estate businesses for more innovative ideas
The real estate industry is one in which businesses often get stuck in the old ways of doing things.
Many real estate businesses simply follow a proven template, and as such, their workflows stagnate and they don’t innovate or grow.
Using an agile approach, real estate businesses could become more creative endeavours in which companies find new and fresh solutions to old problems.
For instance, a real estate company could follow the example of Prime Property Auctions, an innovative auction website that lists properties for sale across the UK and pledges to complete the process within 28 days.
While it’s not necessarily the case that Prime Property Auctions utilises an agile approach, by adopting agile, your business could take a similarly creative glance at its own niche and find a new way to build on what’s already been done.
An agile approach can help teams work more quickly
While agile was originally built for software development, there’s no reason it can’t be applied to businesses like real estate.
Using the Scrum approach, for instance, your team can focus on delivering projects in a timely and efficient manner. Scrum refers to a method by which teams deliver work in shorter sprints rather than longer marathons.
It’s easy to see how this could be applied to real estate. When a property needs to be sold, an agile team can come together in short sprints and figure out what needs to be done, when, and by whom.
This quicker and more efficient approach benefits the customer as well, because your team is more able to focus on what matters and is less likely to get bogged down by unnecessary minutiae.
Agile makes hybrid working easier
Many businesses are moving towards hybrid working environments rather than traditional office spaces, and this is an approach that suits agile down to the ground.
When your real estate business needs to come together to work on a project, a traditional office environment might make employees feel like they’re being overseen constantly.
However, using an agile approach, a sprint can be completed in a short space of time, and teams are free to pursue their own creative initiatives, which means they’re able to move forward without constant oversight.
This works perfectly for a hybrid environment, because a manager isn’t needed to check up on staff members and micromanage their every move.
Customers appreciate the focus that agile brings
An agile framework is focused on quick iteration, creative thinking, and rapid turnaround. It’s not interested in lengthy development processes.
That makes agile ideal for real estate, because it’s an industry in which customers require constant feedback regarding how things are going and what your team is doing to make their dreams a reality.
When you implement an agile framework in your real estate business, the speed of project development means you’ll always have feedback to provide to customers when and where they need it.
This prevents the frustrating situation that often arises in real estate wherein customers don’t feel informed about what’s going on and teams are frequently diverted by the need to reassure and placate angry clients.
Real estate marketing can also be improved by agile
Of course, the real estate business doesn’t just consist of selling or developing properties. Marketing is also a huge element of real estate, and the agile approach is perfect for this aspect of the industry as well.
Agile marketing involves the same principles as the agile framework in other areas; quick turnaround, creative and flexible thinking, and a responsive approach.
It should be obvious that this applies to marketing, too. Using an agile approach, your business can quickly respond to trends on social media, for instance, or rapidly evolving marketing standards, and adopt them into its own process.
The agile approach isn’t just perfect for real estate in its day-to-day operations; it’s also ideal for the ancillary processes that unify to create real value for your business.
Agile makes your real estate business more resilient
There’s nothing more frustrating than working hard on a real estate business, only to watch the market change irreversibly around you, thus rendering your original business plan moot.
That’s not something most agile real estate businesses have to worry about. When your business plan and overall mission incorporate agile methodologies, your real estate company will arguably be much more flexible and resilient.
This means you’ll be able to adapt to changes in the market quickly and easily, thus allowing you to continue to operate even if things become desperate.
Of course, an agile approach won’t save you from failure; that’s something you’ll have to ensure through good planning and entrepreneurship. Agile should, however, make surviving in tough markets easier for your business.
Agile can even be better for the environment
It’s true! You might not immediately think of this benefit, but agile approaches can be a great way to ensure that your company complies with increasingly urgent green initiatives.
It’s important for all of us to do our bit to help the planet, and an agile approach can minimise energy waste, meaning your business lowers its impact on the environment overall.
This will have a knock-on effect, too; environmentally conscious potential employees will appreciate your efforts and will feel better about working for your company, so everyone wins!
