Entering the property market is increasingly challenging. Last year, Australia’s house-price-to-income ratio soared to a five-year high of 120.7 percent, forcing many Australians to remain renters. Renting has also become more expensive, with the average rent for a house in Sydney hitting $750 per week in March 2024.
The difficulty of achieving homeownership is compounded by a soft market, making it harder for real estate agents to generate income and commissions. While we can’t magically increase the financial capacity of our customers, real estate agents can improve their operations to create efficiencies and reduce friction.
Here are some tactics real estate agents can use to strengthen their bottom line:
Reduce Transaction Time to Increase Volume
Cash flow is crucial for any small business or franchise. It helps manage expenses and frees up funds for reinvestment, potentially impacting overall profitability and growth. Instant payments can significantly enhance cash flow.
This is where tools like the cloud-based payments and financing platform Rello come in. Rello streamlines real estate transactions with automated, instant payment solutions, enabling agents to access cash flow faster by offering multiple payment options to their customers. Rello’s unique payment links allow for immediate account-to-account (A2A) payments, PayID, online card payments, or deferred options via Rello Pay, creating efficiencies in processing payments.
Rello reported an 11 percent surge in transaction volume within the first month of agents implementing automated payments through Monoova’s API-enabled solutions. Additionally, they observed 100 percent adoption of real-time A2A payments, offering instant reconciliation with Monoova’s Automatcher solution.
Minimize Administrative Time
Time spent chasing payments is time not spent selling or building relationships. Automating payment processing and reporting can save valuable time. Rello’s clients, for example, saved an average of four hours per week on payment processing once instant payment options were introduced. By automating manual processes, Rello reallocated two full-time employees from admin roles to business growth areas, maximizing their time and potential.
Chasing payments is not only frustrating and time-consuming but also costly. The time-value of money means that any money owed becomes less valuable the longer it remains unpaid. Reducing the time spent on these tasks can have a significant impact on the bottom line.
Receive Commissions Sooner
Early access to commissions is a no-brainer. Immediate access to funds is more valuable than waiting for future payments. Payment tools like Rello can provide early access to agent commissions, which can be used to fund working capital or reinvest in the business.
Assist Sellers in Highlighting Their Property’s Best Features
Despite a tough market, buyers often lead with their emotions, driving up prices. Enhancing marketing and advertising collateral can attract these buyers. Offering vendors the option to defer all marketing and listing costs associated with preparing a property for sale can reduce friction. This approach could drive more vendors to maximize their property’s selling potential, potentially leading to better sales outcomes and higher commissions for agents.
By leveraging these strategies, real estate agents can improve their operational efficiency and strengthen their financial standing, even in challenging market conditions.
