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Agent | Broker Reset Filters to Default Back to List3 Reasons Modernized Listing Accessibility Can Drive Organic Growth
November 27 2023
Welcome back to our "Tips and Tricks Tuesday" series, which highlights articles around a monthly theme. November's theme is "How to Be a Better Me." Read on for tips and tricks on helping your organization and customers be their best selves:
By Justin Lundy, founder of Lundy
Several years ago, my mother-in-law was diagnosed with Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP), a group of rare eye diseases that affect the retina (the light-sensitive layer of tissue in the back of the eye). RP makes cells in the retina break down slowly over time, causing vision loss, and the only thing I could think to do was find a way to help her continue doing what she loved: looking at property listings.
It was a natural task for me to undertake. At the time I was a real estate agent in San Diego. The big question, of course, was how could I help my mother-in-law look at property listings if she could no longer see?
My original idea when we launched was to provide virtual tours of homes for sale using Amazon's Alexa device. But as time progressed and as I learned more, something became alarmingly apparent; losing vision isn't just something that happens as a result of a rare eye disease, such as the one afflicting my mother-in-law. Indeed, when we worked with focus groups at the National Federation of the Blind, we learned that many, if not most, senior adults were naturally losing visual acuity.
So, I set a new goal to create an app that would enable the visually impaired to say, "Alexa, help me buy a house," and have the Amazon smart home device walk users through.
It was easier said than done, but here's another shocker: Now that it IS done, the business is moving in ways I never anticipated, and there are three reasons that increasing accessibility has proved beneficial to our MLS partners.
1. Accessibility is a key component of organic growth.
More and more MLSs are beginning to understand the importance of real estate listings evolving to become more accessible. This is because the real estate industry is constantly changing, and in order to stay ahead of the curve, MLSs need to make sure that their listings are easy to find and use for both buyers and sellers. There are a number of ways that MLSs can make their listings more accessible, such as by making them available on mobile devices, improving the search functionality, and providing more detailed information about each listing.
By making these changes, MLSs can help to ensure that the real estate industry remains accessible to everyone. This allows agents to tap into underserved markets while also solving a real-world problem.
2. Real estate listing litigation is real, and it will cost you.
One thing that hurts growth is unnecessary costs. From the perspective of somebody who's blind, it feels like they're being excluded from the real estate listings market, which is super dangerous from a legal standpoint. And there are litigation lawyers who will not hesitate to fire off letters to agents as fast as they can. And the contents of the letter are: "My client is blind and can't access your website."
And they want a settlement for thousands of dollars. And everybody settles. When I do a presentation and talk about this, all the agents in the room nod their heads "yes," because they've all been through the lack of accessibility issue at some point in time, and it's proven to be a costly aspect of doing business.
3. There are unexpected benefits to increasing accessibility.
As mentioned earlier, accessibility can open the door to new markets. About six months ago, a new and unexpected audience emerged, as people without visual impairments began using the function because they found it to be a useful addition to their Alexa devices.
For example, people who are doing chores or other tasks that require their hands can use audio listings to keep track of what they need to do. Our popularity is growing among Boomers and Millennials alike. In the last six months, there has been a significant increase in the number of people using audio listings, particularly with the launch of the new training model. Another factor that has contributed to the increase in usage is the wider ability to ask Alexa questions about the listings.
Yet, even with all this happening, Lundy is not done growing. We have a vision to evolve the audio listings market to provide more information than ever before. For example, the visually impaired want to include information about whether a property has stairs or an unfenced pool, how far the kitchen is from the bathroom and bedroom, and so on.
Truth be told, this information is important for both people who are visually impaired and those who are not. People with visual impairments need this information to navigate the property safely, while those without visual impairments may appreciate having this information to make an informed decision about whether to purchase the property. That's a win-win, and that's music to my ears.