Tools & Tech | Patterson-Schwartz Blog

The Future is Here: Embracing AI Tech at PSA

Real estate is an ever-changing industry, where staying ahead of the trends is key to success. As Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools start to take the world by storm, powerful AI writing models like ChatGPT are introducing game-changing ways to enhance productivity, streamline communication processes, and ultimately transform the real estate landscape. At Patterson-Schwartz, we’re making it easy for our agents to understand and embrace this new technology with industry-leading education and resources.

AI Powered Writing Tools for Listings & Newsletters

PSA’s team of technology and marketing experts spent the summer learning about AI technology, specifically AI writing tools like ChatGPT, and the applications for the real estate industry.

“Seeing the benefits, it was imperative we bring this tech in-house,” says Sue Kennedy of PSA’s Technology team.

By September, AI writing tools were built into existing tools and available to assist with property descriptions and newsletter content using PS@NET – PSA’s internal business management system.

“I LOVE these new tools from PSA,” says Greenville agent Lauren Madaline of the Madaline & Law Group. “I saved so much time using the prompts in place, giving a personal touch here and there as opposed to sitting for hours thinking up content from scratch! This is an absolute game-changer for me and my team.”

Coaching from National Social Media and AI Technology Expert

Seeking ways to help agents understand and maximize AI writing tools, PSA partnered with national social media expert Katie Lance. CEO and co-founder of Katie Lance Consulting, Katie is a prominent figure in the real estate industry, specializing in helping real estate professionals leverage social media, video marketing, and artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance their business strategies.

“I’ve been a long-time fan of Katie’s and I always learn so much from her expertise,” says Nicolette Pomije, PSA’s Senior Marketing Manager. “I enrolled in her ChatGPT course over the summer and knew she’d be the right person to show our agents the capabilities of this new technology.”

PSA agents showed up in droves for Katie’s three-part webinar series entitled Empowering REALTORS® with AI: ChatGPT and the Future of Real Estate. This Zoom course covered everything from writing prompts to best practices with ideas for creating content, engaging consumers, and generating efficiencies. Her emphasis on ChatGPT and AI as a complement to an agent’s business – and not a replacement for an agent’s voice or experience – was key to her approach.

Marcus DuPhily, a Hockessin agent, expressed his enthusiasm, stating, “This is VERY cool! [Writing remarks] is my least favorite task when it comes to preparing a listing. I am looking forward to trying this out.”

Ann Jackson, a Rehoboth Beach agent, was similarly excited to use AI writing tools after Katie’s sessions, saying, “Great info. Looking forward to taking the leap.”

The Future of AI is Here

PSA’s new tools and Katie’s presentation are helping our agents open the door to a new era of real estate, where AI becomes an indispensable ally, enabling them to provide a higher level of service and streamline their workflow.

As Katie Lance shared with our session attendees, “So many brokerages and offices don’t understand the importance of at least starting to have these conversations [about AI/ChatGPT]. I give huge kudos to Patterson-Schwartz for being ahead of the game. I love that you are on it.”

Stay tuned for more exciting developments from PSA as new technology shapes the future of real estate.

About Us

Patterson-Schwartz Real Estate is Delaware’s largest independent real estate brokerage and offers a full range of services that include residential home sales, purchase and rental, relocation services, and property management. We’ve been guiding home buyers and sellers since 1961, and invite you to connect with us when you’re ready to partner with a local real estate expert.

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Worth a Click: PSA’s New Online Home Valuation Tool

Selling a home can be an exciting yet daunting task, especially when it comes to determining its market value. Fortunately, Patterson-Schwartz Real Estate has partnered with Leading Real Estate Companies of the World^® and Percy, the renowned real estate technology company, to address the two most important questions every potential seller has: What is my home worth? And do you have buyers for it?

Get a Feel for the Market

By analyzing nearby sales, buyer behavior, and your home’s unique characteristics, our home valuation tool provides three valuations along with insight into the number of buyers actively searching for a property just like yours! Whether you’re considering selling or simply curious about your home’s value, this user-friendly online tool presents real-time buyer activity heat maps and profiles of potential buyers that make the data come alive. With just a few clicks, you can gain a clearer understanding of the value your property holds in today’s competitive market.

Sell with Confidence

Our new online home valuation tool acts as a powerful stepping stone towards a successful home selling journey. Armed with comprehensive insights, you can confidently navigate the real estate market, set an optimal listing price, and make informed decisions throughout the selling process.

As a renowned real estate agency with a long-standing history of excellence, Patterson-Schwartz brings in-depth local knowledge and industry experience to the table. Our team of local experts is readily available to provide personalized guidance and expert advice when you’re ready to take that step.

Discover the new “What’s My Home Worth?” tool, now available on pattersonschwartz.com, and embark on a successful selling journey with confidence.

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Business Management Gets a Major Boost at PSA

“This industry moves and changes fast and our agents need the ability to quickly and efficiently access the information and resources they need,” says Donna Greenspan, Patterson-Schwartz Executive Vice President of Administration. “We love offering the right tools in the right moment, especially ones thoughtfully crafted for own agents.”

Last month the Patterson-Schwartz tech team wrapped up a series of office roadshows demonstrating our re-imagined and newly mobile-responsive online business and listing data management system, PS@NET. It’s a project our technology team and in-house focus group proudly worked on for a great part of 2022.

Donna Greenspan addressing a packed training room at PSA Hockessin in January 2023

Designed for PSA, by PSA

“Building technology internally allows us to customize and create access to tools and resources that work best for our agents and our ever-evolving industry,” says Sue Kennedy, Patterson-Schwartz Technology Manager. “We launched PS@NET in 1998 as our first internal online listing management system. We’ve been fine-tuning with added features and functions ever since.”

While a one-stop resource for property searches, transaction management, real estate tools, and company news, this latest version of PS@NET is our most robust version to date. It was re-designed in response to how our agents do business — on the go and on the spot.

Streamlining the mobile experience played a large part in the re-design. Menus and most-used tools are front and center; and added features, like goal-trackers and quick search options, further enhance the user experience. But making it feel fresh was just as important as making it feel familiar.

“We really listen to our agents and carefully watch the way they do business. Our internal systems support them by being smart and intuitive, but also accessible and uncomplicated. We launched the new PS@NET at the beginning of the year, and our agents are already becoming fluent users,” says Sue.

Launched at the Right Time

Agents were able to start using the new PS@NET and take advantage of its new features in January — a time of year when business planning and goal-setting is top of mind, and ahead of the busy spring market to come.

“Change is good! In addition to the new look, I can find things with less ‘clicks’, customize my frequently used tools, and the entire system mirrors what I see and do on my cell! In today’s world, we require quick and easy access to the tools we need and the new PS@NET does exactly that!”
Lori Davis, Patterson-Schwartz Newark sales team

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Patterson-Schwartz: Enhancing the Home Valuation Experience

Keeping pace with an ever-evolving local market is important, but finding reliable information can be a challenge. Patterson-Schwartz understands this challenge and is pleased to announce a new partnership with CloudCMA and Homebeat, leaders in the home valuation tool industry.

What is a CMA?

A Comparative Market Analysis (CMA) is the term real estate professionals use when they conduct an in-depth analysis of a home’s current worth based on the prices of similar active, pending, and sold properties in the area. Real estate professionals present a CMA to their clients to help them determine a price when listing a home or making an offer to buy a home.

CloudCMA provides our sales associates with the real-time data and innovative tools necessary to guide clients through crucial price-related decisions. When it comes time to list your home for sale, you can depend on our sales associates to provide the very best CMA reporting and personalize it to you. In the meantime, how can you stay informed on the market and begin to understand the true value of your home?

A local real estate expert is your best resource

A flood of websites out there promise an instant value for your home, but, in reality, they are rarely accurate. There are so many factors that contribute to a property’s value that these online models overlook, including the property’s condition. Only a licensed real estate professional familiar with your area can give you a true idea of what your home is worth. In that regard, you should avoid relying solely on a website to determine your home’s value, but understanding local housing trends is a great place to start.

On the fence about selling? Try Homebeat!

Homebeat through Patterson-Schwartz allows you to regularly check the sales activity of the homes around yours. As a Homebeat subscriber, updates about your neighborhood’s housing trends are emailed to you at the frequency of your choice. Each report includes properties in your neighborhood with MLS and market data, and refreshes automatically with the most recent listings and sales information available.

When you’re ready to consider selling, a Patterson-Schwartz sales associate can upgrade your Homebeat to a comprehensive CMA and deliver it to you in the method you prefer: in-person, electronically, or video chat. The knowledge and personal care of our local experts paired with the innovative reporting data from CloudCMA will help you list your home with confidence in any market. To keep your finger on the pulse of the market, get started with Homebeat today!

About Us

Patterson-Schwartz Real Estate is Delaware’s largest independent real estate brokerage and offers a full range of services that include residential home sales, purchase and rental, relocation services, and property management. We invite you to connect with us when you’re ready to partner with a local real estate expert. We’ve been guiding home buyers and sellers since 1961.

Patterson-Schwartz launches Adwerx Motion ads

It is no secret that today’s consumers often begin their search for a home online. And now more than ever, a robust and effective online strategy is vital for connecting with home buyers. At Patterson-Schwartz, we employ a vast array of online marketing efforts to increase our listings’ exposure, and we’re excited to announce a new animated format from our digital ad partner, Adwerx Enterprise.

Enhancing the digital experience

In 2018 Patterson-Schwartz began a partnership with Adwerx Enterprise, an industry leader in digital advertising automation. With the Adwerx platform, digital ads for new Patterson-Schwartz listings launch when a property is publicly listed during the all-important first week that a home hits the market and receives the most attention. Combined with sophisticated retargeting technology, these ads follow local home buyers around the web and appear on popular websites such as ESPN and the New York Times and social media sites like Facebook and Instagram.

“Patterson-Schwartz focuses on using superior tools to market their listings, and we have helped them engage online buyers and cost-effectively advertise on websites alongside big brands,” says Nathan Kainz, Enterprise Account Management, Team Lead at Adwerx. “But we know the real estate industry is competitive and are always looking to enhance the ability to grab the attention of consumers.”

An innovative partnership

Developed to stand out in the digital environment, Adwerx Motion combines the effectiveness of targeting listing ads with the power of motion to create content that reaches more prospective buyers and increases the visibility of each listing. This new feature allows display advertising to be animated using HTML5 technology – an ad type proven to drive higher engagement and improved click-through rates.

“When we were approached by our account representative to be one of the first brokers to launch Adwerx Motion ads, we didn’t hesitate to jump on board.
“The ability to upgrade our automated listing campaigns to an animated design creates another opportunity for our agents to impress their sellers and win the listing presentation. Adwerx consistently enables us to provide value to our agents and their clients by helping their listings stand out in a highly competitive environment.”
Justin Kierstead, Marketing Director of Patterson-Schwartz Real Estate

About Us

Patterson-Schwartz Real Estate is Delaware’s largest independent REALTOR® with ten offices and over 450 full-time Sales Associates. We offer a full range of services that include residential home sales, purchase and rental, relocation services, and property management. We invite you to connect with us when you’re ready to partner with a local real estate expert. We’ve been guiding home buyers and sellers since 1961.

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Smarter Open Houses with Spacio & Patterson-Schwartz

Patterson-Schwartz is pleased to announce paperless open house registration through the Spacio app! This new, digital process provides a smarter experience for open house visitors and Patterson-Schwartz agents. Registrant information is gathered instantly and more accurately than the manual sign-in process, while automated follow-up ensures the interest in the open house never loses its momentum.

“Spacio enables agents to efficiently and seamlessly connect with potential buyers long after the doors to the open house close. Digitally collecting visitor data also eliminates paperwork and the use of QR code technology provides a touchless aspect. The experience is better, greener, and safer for all involved.”
Justin Kierstead, Director of Marketing at Patterson-Schwartz

Maximizing the open house opportunity

While the pandemic put restrictions on traditional open house activity in 2020, the local real estate market is experiencing a return to interest in in-person tours of homes in 2021. According to the National Association of REALTORS, open houses continue to be a frequently used source in the home search process among buyers.

The partnership with Spacio allows Patterson-Schwartz agents to make the most of the open house opportunity. The app is easily accessible via web and mobile devices and integrates with many agents’ lead capture and follow-up tools.

The app’s top features also make it a great piece of technology for today’s fast-paced and safety-minded market.

Each open house event generates its unique URL or QR code, which, when shared with visitors, allows for touchless sign-in on individual devices. These URLs and QR codes can also be shared in advance and save time through pre-registration. And as soon as the open house closes, registrants receive automated follow-up information and can connect with the agent at the click of a button.

“We’re thrilled to be able to offer this app to our agents,” says Patterson-Schwartz Senior Vice President, Business Development & Corporate Strategist, and Greenville Sales Manager, Donna Greenspan. “Open houses have long been a mainstay to real estate sales, and we love introducing new technology into the experience without sacrificing the personal touch.”

About Us

Celebrating 60 years of service, Patterson-Schwartz Real Estate is Delaware’s largest independent REALTOR® with nine offices and over 450 full-time Sales Associates. We offer a full range of services that include residential home sales, purchase and rental, relocation services, and property management. We invite you to connect with us when you’re ready to partner with a local real estate expert.