Outsourcing real estate services: an all-inclusive guide

The global real estate market is expected to grow from $2,687.35 billion in 2020 to $3,717.03 billion in 2025, growing at a compound annual growth rate of 8%. This is a direct result of real estate companies rearranging their business operations to seek out growth and scalability to meet market demand in the coming years.

What does this mean for those who work in the real estate industry? A likely increase in overall workload. A popular way of dealing with anticipated business growth and meeting increases in demand is to hire additional employees. But, an increase in employee headcount comes with an increase in employment costs.

How can outsourcing help? Outsourcing real estate services, such as property management assistants and real estate sales support, can result in administrative fluidity and more time dedicated to nurturing relationships with clients. By outsourcing time-consuming real estate tasks to the Philippines, you free up your onshore real estate team’s time to focus on nurturing relationships and identifying real estate market opportunities to scale and grow your agency.

In this blog, we address the common questions associated with outsourcing your real estate services so that you have all the information you need to start your offshore journey.

What is outsourcing and how does it apply to your real estate business?

Outsourcing is a fee for service contracting arrangement where a business engages a third-party organization to handle specific functions that would otherwise be done in-house. It's a business solution for agencies looking to scale their operations whilst lowering employment costs and increasing staff satisfaction. It's as simple as identifying day-to-day tasks or processes that are holding you back from achieving business growth goals and then liaising with an offshore provider to understand how they can turn those inefficiencies into efficiencies.

How does this apply to a real estate agency? Let's take, for example, a property management team. Every agency is different, but the overall process of setting up an outsourced property management team would look similar to:

• Inform your onshore, existing employees and identify what property management tasks you want to offshore
• Engage with the right outsourcing provider
• Develop job descriptions for each outsourced role for your offshore recruitment team to use to perform skills tests and interview potential candidates
• Decide on your chosen property management team and begin the training and onboarding process
• No need to worry about IT, facilities or infrastructure; your offshore provider should take care of that
• GO LIVE with your newly established outsourced property management team and develop ongoing performance management processes with your offshore provider.

What real estate tasks and roles can be outsourced?

What roles you'd like to outsource completely depends on your agency’s needs. You may find that you'd benefit from outsourcing, one or two staff, or even building an entire offshore team. The best way to start is by identifying the tasks that are repetitive and time-consuming. If you begin by offshoring these, you'll find your existing onshore team has more time to build client relationships and grow the business. Your offshore real estate team's primary goal is to provide the support needed to generate better business efficiency outcomes for your business.

Here is an overview of the real estate services and the tasks associated that can be outsourced:

Where can you outsource your real estate services to?

Put simply, anywhere. The outsourcing workplace structure is very similar to a remote workforce, making it possible for outsourcing providers to be located either on the other side of the world, or just down the street. What makes this business model work so well is just how accessible outsourcing can be for any agency. Outsourcing providers are experts at supporting businesses with having their services go from "in-house to out-of-house" and ensure the entire process is seamless and comfortable for both your newly outsourced team and your existing onshore one. And, it is cost-effective as well.

Don't place too much attention on your outsourced team's location, but rather the quality of the outsourcing provider you decide to engage with. How do you know you are choosing the right outsourcing provider for your needs? Do you fully understand their operations and are their values aligned to your agencies? How will they ensure that all-important performance metrics are met? Before you even consider signing terms with a potential outsourcing provider, you need to be able to answer questions such as these confidently, even more so if they are located overseas.

Why outsource your real estate services to the Philippines?

In the outsourcing world, the Philippines is one of the leading suppliers. Not only will you save on employment costs by outsourcing real estate tasks and functions to the Philippines, but with an expected 29.2% increase in cloud-based technology in Australia, offshoring becomes a more viable and practical option.

How can the Philippines provide the desired returns for your agency? Here are a few reasons why you should consider outsourcing to The Philippines:

• English language proficiency

  
  Real estate isn't just about dealing with industrial, commercial and residential physical property. Being able to communicate with stakeholders is crucial. With a Business English Index (BEI) of 7.95, Filipinos can communicate effectively with onshore staff and clients, understand governing property legislation and draft important documents or contracts efficiently.

• Cost-effectiveness and quality

  
  When comparing the Philippines with Australia, the Philippine’s living costs are significantly lower, meaning businesses pay LESS for MORE. By spending less to employ competent and reliable staff in the Philippines, organizations gain businesses efficiencies as Filipinos strive to produce quality work.

• Strong work ethic

  
  Real estate requires serious attention to detail, especially when reviewing legal documents and contracts. Filipinos value respect and honest effort and pride themselves on generating quality, and comprehensive work.

• Cultural compatibility

  
  The Philippines has experienced many different values, customs and ethics as a direct result of being colonized by foreign forces. Thus, it's created compatibility between other cultures and Filipinos, giving them an edge in understanding a businesses' client profiles and values.

What are the benefits of outsourcing real estate services to the Philippines?

Check out these four benefits agencies can get from successfully outsourcing real estate services to the Philippines:

1. Employment cost savings of up to 70%.
2. Staff satisfaction improvement and retention: by having an offshore team member completed certain tasks, onshore staff can then focus on what they were hired to do.
3. Opportunity to scale your agency: by choosing a low-cost alternative to employing real estate team members locally, you can reinvest these savings into revenue-generating projects and grow your agency.
4. Business efficiency increases: your offshore real estate provider isn't just a supplier; they are an expert on all things outsourcing. By having them be an "extra pair of hands", you don't need to worry about managing a whole team over in the Philippines and can consult with your new provider on how you can continue to save costs or scale your agency as your relationship develops.

How to know if outsourcing real estate services is right for your agency?

Outsourcing allows agencies to reassess what matters and provides them with a solution to lower employment costs, increase staff satisfaction and ultimately free up their time to scale and achieve the growth they've been trying to achieve.

If any of the following reasons resonate with you, then outsourcing might be the solution to achieving those goals:

• Save on time: Scheduling property viewings, processing tenancy applications, organizing agent schedules and coordinating meetings can take time. More often than not, real estate teams are already busy handling client queries and concerns to then have to double down on paperwork and data-entry tasks. By outsourcing these administrative tasks to an offshore team, you have more time to analyze market trends and relieve some weight off your onshore real estate team's shoulders.
• Access to industry experts: You're no longer limited to just local talent. Instead, outsourcing expands your real estate horizons; you have access to global skill and expertise you may not have discovered by recruiting in-house.
• Minimize overheads: Instead of paying for a new phone, desktop computer, handling HR costs like annual leave, super and work-cover, by outsourcing your real estate services, you won't need to worry about renting a larger space as you grow or whether there are enough amenities available for your growing team. Many outsourcing providers already have these facilities in place so you can continue to scale and grow without increasing overheads costs.

Still have unanswered questions about real estate outsourcing?

As the demand and pressures on real estate agencies intensify, many are looking for alternative methods to stay competitive and profitable. Outsourcing is an increasingly popular option, allowing real estate offices to expand their profit margins by saving more than 70% on salary costs whilst also growing their business and improving customer experience at the same time. This eBook, “Answering all of your questions about outsourcing in the real estate sector” examines everything you need to know about real estate outsourcing.