Selling a home can be a stressful and exhausting process. But thanks to innovation in the real estate sector, there are now alternatives that allow you to sell quickly and efficiently, minimizing the stress of the operation. iBuyers, online agencies and real estate agencies specializing in foreign buyers are excellent examples of these solutions. But how and why do they allow you to sell your house faster?
For the specialists at HelpMyCash.com, a website dedicated to real estate comparison, it is the use of technology and artificial intelligence (AI) in the different steps of the sale that allows speeding up operations. But it is important to keep in mind that each player in the real estate market uses technology in their own way.
iBuyers are companies that buy real estate directly from the owners. They use online appraisal tools that, thanks to AI, can cross data from various sources to appraise a property in a matter of minutes. Thus, an owner who wants to sell in record time can contact an iBuyer and obtain a purchase offer within a maximum period of 24 hours.
And that's not all. If the offer compensates the owner, a specialist will visit the property — or, make a virtual tour through a video call — to do an inspection. If the state of conservation of the home is adequate, they will make a definitive purchase offer and will be able to close the sale in less than a week. The iBuyer also takes care of all the procedures and paperwork.
But speed and convenience come at a price: in this case, the purchase offer is often less than what could be obtained under market conditions.
Specialists advise always requesting an offer from an iBuyer before publishing the home on real estate portals. “If the offer compensates the owner, he will be able to sell in just one week. If it does not compensate you, you can reject the offer without cost or commitment and proceed with the sale in its traditional format ”, they point out.
Online real estate agents have gained popularity in recent years thanks to their effectiveness in digitizing the procedures to sell a flat. The owner can, for example, consult the agency's services on the web or by phone and can even sign the sales order electronically and without leaving his home. The online real estate company is in charge of sending a professional to take pictures of the house and mount an optimized advertisement so that it appears in the first positions of the results page of the real estate portals. It also schedules visits and filters buyers, but it is the owner who is in charge, in general, of receiving those interested in the home.
If a buyer shows interest in the property, the agent proceeds with the negotiation, communicating both by phone and by email, and even offers to sign the deposit contract electronically, thanks to the incorporation of the digital signature. This optimization of the processes saves time in procedures and paperwork and allows the sale of the house to be more agile.
All this, added to the fact that they have few or no offices at street level, allows them to charge fees that are up to 80% cheaper than those charged by traditional agencies. “Online real estate agencies adapt to a digital customer profile who is willing to participate in the sale, making visits, for example. Whoever feels identified with these characteristics can save a good sum of money in the real estate commission ”, they assure from HelpMyCash.
If technology has achieved anything, it is to shorten distances, even in the real estate market. So much so that more and more foreigners are looking for homes for sale in Spain through real estate portals. But there is another direct way to sell your apartment to a foreign buyer: contact specialized real estate agents. Among its advantages are that agents are usually multilingual, put technology at the service of the buyer —including virtual tours, plans and 360 videos in their ads, among many other tools—, and have a portfolio of foreign clients looking for homes in Spain With some frequency.
Why do these real estate agents allow you to sell your apartment faster? Because they allow you to reach a higher number of potential buyers. Without going any further, 14% of home purchases in 2022 were carried out by foreign buyers and capturing their attention is much easier with the help of an expert in the field. From HelpMyCash, they also point out a relevant fact: foreign buyers pay more than nationals. According to the latest report from the General College of Notaries, foreign buyers pay an average of 2,062 euros per square meter, while nationals pay about 1,560 euros.
✉️ You can sign up for The Buyer's Newsletter, where you will find the best discounts, tips and recommendations on products of all kinds.
