When it comes to purchasing new technology for your commercial real estate brokerage, return on investment shouldn’t be the main focus.
That might sound like a pretty absurd claim for a CRE tech company to make, but hear us out. With many industries that have more established tech tools, it’s easy enough to calculate the ROI of a new technology purchase. You invest X in upgrading to a tool and receive X+Y in return within a reasonable time period.
In real estate, however, the deal timeline is pretty long. You’re not going to see a calculable ROI in the first few months of trying a new tool since you’re not going to suddenly close 10 more deals. But with relatively large commissions, chances are, if you close just one extra deal thanks to the help of technology (which usually costs a small fraction of your commission), then your investment already has a huge return.
That’s why, when considering the purchase of tech, there’s way more to consider than just the money you’re putting into it.