The Ultimate Guide to Home Builder Software
Table of Contents
What is home builder software?
Home builder software is designed to help you streamline, manage and enhance the home building and buying process.
Types of home builder software
House builders use a variety of software including Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems, project management tools, snagging software, and CGI tools for creating virtual house tours.
Each of these tools has their own purpose and benefits, for example:
Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software allows you to store and manage all home buyer and prospect data in one place, including contact details, stage in the buying journey, and previous interactions. You can then use this information to nurture prospects with personalised communications and build relationships to enhance customer satisfaction and loyalty.
Project management tools help you effectively plan, schedule, and track house building projects. You can set and monitor budgets, assign tasks to team members and contractors, create timelines, and generate real-time reports for stakeholders.
Snagging software enables you to identify and document issues and defects in homes, so you can arrange fixes quickly and efficiently. You can track progress and keep everyone updated on what’s being done and when it will be completed.
CGI technology is the perfect way to bring your homes and developments to life. With 360o virtual house tours, your customers and prospects can ‘walk around’ homes online to see what they look like before visiting in person.
Many home builders use various software to manage different tasks individually. However, an all-in-one home software (like Homebee!) is often the best approach as it brings everything together into one digital platform.
Benefits of home builder software
Home builder software offers numerous benefits including streamlined operations, enhanced sales and marketing efforts and faster home maintenance fixes. While these benefits vary between software solutions, here’s an idea of what to expect:
Streamlined operations
House builder software, like CRMs and project management tools, enhance the buying and selling homes journey by bringing everything together in one place. They streamline data flow and provide a single source of truth so you and your colleagues can make faster, more informed decisions based on accurate information. This not only saves time but reduces costs too.
Enhanced sales and marketing
Home builder software can help you drastically improve your sales and marketing game. For example, you could use it to:
Offer 360o virtual reality tours
Research shows that homes marketed with virtual tours have a 20% higher conversion rate and sell for 5.6% more. Buyers value being able to explore properties online before visiting in person because it helps them imagine living there and decide if the place feels right for them.
With Homebee, we take this a step further because buyers can virtually customise rooms with different fittings, furnishings, and materials - and even buy them too. This feature not only enhances the buyer experience but also opens up an additional revenue stream for builders. Plus, it improves accessibility for those unable to visit in person, including international buyers, boosting house sales from further afar.
Personalise the customer experience
Home builder software can help you access and harness all kinds of data for personalised sales and marketing campaigns. With a home builder CRM for example, you can see a prospect’s stage in the buying journey and your most recent interactions, so you can effectively nurture them towards a home purchase.
Similarly, if your house builder software captures UTM source data, you can see how customers discovered your business - whether through Google, social media or platforms like RightMove - and optimise your customer journey accordingly.
Fix maintenance, fast
Snagging software helps you track and fix home defects quickly and efficiently. You can upload photos, schedule contractor appointments and monitor progress. You customers can keep track too, enhancing transparency and delivering a better customer experience.
How to choose the right home builder software
Before investing in a new home builder software, have a clear understanding of your objectives and how the software will help you achieve them.
For example, if your goal is to improve business efficiency, look for software that facilitates team collaboration across various departments. Alternatively, if you want to enhance customer experience and accessibility, consider options like CGI 360° virtual house tours, so buyers can browse plots and developments online at any time, from anywhere.
Key questions to ask yourself when choosing home builder software are:
What is my goal?
Which team(s) will be using it?
Who will benefit?
How will I get team buy-in and roll it out across the business?
What integrations do I need?
How will I measure my return?
Answering these questions will help you choose the right house builder software with the features and capabilities you need.
Challenges when implementing housebuilder software
and how to overcome them
Implementing house builder software within a business can present various challenges. The most common include:
Employees are resistant to change
Team members may be concerned about how much time and resources are required to learn, adapt to, and integrate new software. To reassure them, clearly explain the benefits and how it will make their jobs easier. Provide collaborative training so everyone feels like they’re learning something new together. With Homebee, we offer full training to help onboard the software smoothly and provide ongoing support to assist whenever you need us.
Software and data integrations
Integrating house builder software with other systems can present challenges. Without proper planning, it can lead to operational disruptions, data loss, and spending significant time, money, and resources to fix.
To avoid this, create a detailed roadmap of required integrations from the outset and communicate it clearly to everyone involved in the process. This ensures the software you choose can meet your requirements and that your provider has the knowledge to handle the integrations effectively.
Summary
There are various types of home builder software used by project managers, marketing and sales teams, contractors, and subcontractors. Software varies from project management tools and CRM systems to snagging software and CGI technology. The best house builder software for your business depends on your specific goals, but ultimately, it should enhance the process of buying and selling homes.
Housebuilder software can transform the buyer’s experience too. With 90% of UK homeowners saying that buying a house is one of life's most stressful experiences, and 60% believing that better digitisation would help, prioritising the right software is essential to delivering the experience your customers want.
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Homebee is the first, fully-customisable house builder software that enables builders and buyers to manage everything digitally, from enquiry to aftercare, in one place. By combining state-of-the-art CGI technology, e-commerce functionality, and a CRM system, you’ll have everything you need to transform the way your homes are marketed, sold and purchased.
To arrange a demo or speak with the team, get in touch.
