We are thrilled to announce that Realtime Conveyancer has been named a finalist in not one but five distinguished categories at the 2024 Cygnet West Proptech Hub WA Awards. These prestigious awards honour innovation and excellence within the property technology sector in Western Australia, and being recognised across such a broad spectrum of categories underscores our commitment to pioneering technology in the property and, more specifically, the conveyancing industry.
Realtime Conveyancer has been acknowledged in the following categories:
Scale Up of the Year: This nomination highlights our rapid growth and scaling efforts that have seen us deliver market-leading innovations to conveyancing practitioners.
Cyber Safe Proptech of the Year: We are proud to once again be recognised for our stringent data security measures and robust cybersecurity protocols, ensuring client data protection and system integrity.
Proptech in Land & Settlements of the Year: This category showcases our specialised innovations and contributions to the conveyancing sector.
Entrepreneur of the Year – Kylie Dillon: Our CEO, Kylie Dillon, is celebrated for her outstanding leadership and entrepreneurial spirit, which continue to drive our company forward.
Executive of the Year – Sunil Sanganbatte: Our CTO, Sunil Sanganbatte, receives well-deserved recognition for his visionary approach and executive excellence in developing the Realtime platform.
These nominations are a testament to our team’s dedication, passion, and relentless pursuit of excellence. Each category reflects a unique aspect of our business. To be recognised for our strategic growth initiatives, the safeguarding of cybersecurity, and our innovative leadership is truly an honour.
We extend our heartfelt congratulations to all the finalists across all of the various categories and express our profound gratitude to our dynamic team, whose expertise and hard work have brought us to this point. We also thank our clients and partners for their trust and collaboration, which are crucial to our ongoing success.
The winners will be announced at the upcoming Cygnet West Proptech Hub WA Awards ceremony in June, and we are excited to celebrate the accomplishments of all nominees and winners. This night is sure to be one to remember, with an opening by Lord Mayor of the City of Perth, Basil Zempilas, MC Claire Tyrell of Business News and a Keynote Address by the CEO of Cygnet West, Imran Mohiuddin.
Whether we bring home the awards or not, being recognised in such diverse categories is already a significant honour and motivates us to continue pushing the boundaries of what is possible in proptech.
It is easy to stick to the familiar and continue doing things the way we’ve always done them. But as consumer expectations evolve and cyber concerns loom larger than ever, at the back of every conveyancing business owner’s mind is the thought, ‘How do I keep up, keep my business secure and stay competitive?”. Change can be daunting, and the thought of upgrading our tech stack may seem like an overwhelming task. However, upgrading your conveyancing technology is not only beneficial but essential for the growth and success of your business.
Think of your tech stack as all of the technologies used in your office and how they work together and interact to support you in running your business and delivering your services to your clients. Over time, you might find that you have different accounts and software used for different things but that they don’t really talk to each other, and in fact, some may not even be relevant to you any longer. So, here are our top six reasons why reviewing and upgrading your tech stack is the smartest move you’ll make for your conveyancing business.
1. Efficiency Gains & Time Savings
Efficiency is key in the modern conveyancing process. By upgrading your tech stack, you can streamline operations, reduce manual tasks, and significantly improve efficiency. Advanced technology solutions automate repetitive tasks, such as document generation and data entry, freeing up valuable time for your team to focus on higher-value activities and client interactions. This not only boosts productivity but also enhances job satisfaction among your staff.
In speaking with conveyancers who have harnessed efficiencies in their businesses, it seems they have two choices when it comes to what to do with the extra time they get back in their day. Many use this additional time to achieve a greater work/life balance, freeing them up to work fewer hours and spend time with their families. Others have chosen to take on additional work, increasing their revenue and growing their business whilst still working the same number of hours as they would have previously.
2. Enhanced Client Experience
The modern homeowner expects a seamless, transparent transaction. By upgrading your tech stack, you can meet the expectations of today’s consumers by providing easy access to information and streamlined communication channels. Advances in conveyancing software facilitate smoother transactions, faster response times, and improved communication with clients, enhancing their overall experience.
In almost all other areas of their lives, consumers can obtain real-time updates from their smartphones. These capabilities are now possible in conveyancing with consumer apps like Pathway to Settlement. These apps empower clients to track the status of their settlement 24/7 and securely exchange documents and bank account details, leading to increased client satisfaction and loyalty.
3. Remote Work Capabilities
The rise of remote work has transformed the conveyancing industry, particularly following the COVID-19 pandemic. Traditional conveyancing software does not allow for the flexibility needed to work remotely with ease, especially if you’re out and about on the road. By upgrading your tech stack with cloud-based software and digital tools, you can empower your team to work from anywhere, increasing flexibility and resilience in your business operations.
Remote work has also been shown to reduce workplace stress, improve mental well-being, and enhance productivity, creating a more supportive and adaptable work environment for your staff. In fact, according to Randstad’s 2023 Workmonitor Report, 74.6% of Australian workers believe that flexibility in terms of location is important to them.
4. Competitive Advantage
Conveyancing is a highly regulated industry, and as such, there is not much room to differentiate your services in terms of the legal process that must be followed. So instead, conveyancing businesses need to look for alternative ways to stand out from the crowd. One way to do so is by leveraging the latest technology.
Modern tech solutions like Pathway to Settlement enable you to offer innovative services and unique experiences to clients and real estate agents, such as real-time transaction tracking and secure document sharing. By adapting to changing market trends and client expectations of transparency and immediacy, you can position your business as a leader in the industry, attracting new clients and retaining existing ones.
5. Data Security
Cybercrime is a very real threat to the conveyancing industry, with new scams being uncovered all the time, like these recent ones in WA. Given the massive amounts of personal data received from clients over the course of a transaction, protecting this sensitive information is paramount. By upgrading your tech stack with advanced software, you can be confident that you’re operating with the latest, robust security features to minimise the risk of data breaches and cyberattacks.
Aside from the legal obligation to keep client data secure, implementing stringent security measures also enhances your client’s trust and confidence in your business, fostering long-term relationships and loyalty. Traditional communication methods such as email are no longer secure, and it is important that business owners follow best practices to reduce the risk of falling victim to a property scam to them and their clients.
6. Staff Retention and Wellbeing
We’ve talked a lot about the benefits to clients and the benefits to your business, but investing in technology has also been shown to have a positive impact on your team’s retention and well-being. By providing your staff with the tools and support they need to succeed, you create a supportive and empowering work environment.
Modern tech facilitates collaboration, even when working remotely or across different branch locations. Easy, open communication, improved efficiency, and reduced manual tasks allow your team to focus on client interactions and higher-value aspects of their job, leading to increased job satisfaction, reduced stress and improved overall well-being.
So, what are you waiting for?
Upgrading your tech stack is essential for modern conveyancing businesses to stay competitive, meet changing client expectations, and support your team’s success. Conveyancers are blessed to have a myriad of tools and solutions available to them to tailor to their unique business needs. However you decide to do it, embracing modern technology will allow you to streamline operations, enhance your client experiences, and ultimately future-proof your business for continued growth and success.
If you’re looking to streamline your conveyancing workflows and leverage industry-leading integrations, to save you time and money, reach out to us today to book a demo of the Realtime Conveyancer platform.
No one likes change. It’s human nature to seek out things that are familiar and known to us. And so often, we meet change with hesitation and resistance. This hardwired instinct is our brain’s way of safeguarding us from potential risks and dangers. However, it can also hold us back from embracing new, more efficient, and innovative ways of doing things.
When it comes to conveyancing, we only have to look at the last 10-15 years to see just how much change the industry has endured. Electronic conveyancing, verification of identity, Foreign Resident Capital Gains Withholding, GST Withholding. And so the list goes on… Often (somewhat unsurprisingly), these changes were met with resistance and frustration by those impacted.
Having endured so many regulatory changes, business owners have found themselves needing more time and motivation to make impactful procedural changes to modernise their conveyancing businesses. Familiar, safe processes can be easy to accept, even if they are slow and heavily manual. However, for your business to continue to grow and thrive, a more streamlined, technology-driven approach is essential.
So, how can understanding the psychology of change help conveyancers and their staff transition to modern conveyancing practices?
First, let’s understand the brain’s resistance to change
Our brains are wired to resist change. To our brain, familiarity equals safety. In conveyancing, this means that even if your current methods are slow, error-prone, and frustrating, they still feel safe because they are known to you. On the flip side, learning something new can trigger feelings of uncertainty and potential risk.
Think about your current processes. You probably use many extra steps and workarounds to overcome the limitations of the tool or process and ensure a successful outcome.
But what if you could change your process or system to avoid the need for these safeguards?
Objections to change are entirely normal. Often, they’re rooted in our instinctual need to be in our ‘safe zone’. So, rather than bulldozing through any objections to change that your team may raise or donning a ‘like it or lump it’ attitude, you’ll achieve a far more favourable outcome if you address them with empathy and understanding.
Embrace your and your team’s worries and anxieties
Feeling worried, anxious or overwhelmed about change is entirely valid. It’s a sign that your brain is dealing with an unfamiliar situation. It’s essential to convey to your team that these emotions are normal and not insurmountable obstacles. It is OK that it may take time for everyone to adapt and feel comfortable with new processes and tools.
Open, honest and frequent communication without fear of judgement or negative repercussions is vital to ease your team’s concerns about any impending change. In all honesty, it’s pretty likely you’ll experience many of the same feelings yourself. After all, if you’ve done things the same way for many years, any change to this ‘norm’ will feel tricky at the start. You may even second-guess your decision to implement the changes at points throughout your journey.
Being kind to yourself and your team, setting reasonable milestones and reflecting regularly on your progress are essential.
Don’t forget to learn from your mistakes
Mistakes may happen. In fact, we can almost guarantee that they will, especially during the initial learning phase. Instead of viewing these mistakes as failures, consider them opportunities for improvement. Put a plan together for how you will mitigate or manage these mistakes and, most importantly, learn from them.
Again, open communication with your team is key here. They should feel confident about bringing concerns or challenges to the table to workshop solutions and receive additional training for any ‘sticky bits’.
Sharing stories with your team of how you’ve overcome challenging issues can help everyone feel more confident navigating new systems and processes.
Give yourself time, change doesn’t happen overnight
Change takes time, and it’s essential to acknowledge that things might take longer than expected while you’re in the learning phase. You cannot expect to implement a new system or procedure and get things done as quickly as before from day one.
Of course, the goal when implementing changes in your office is to be more efficient and work more effectively. So it can be disheartening when what you thought would speed things up actually seems to take longer. Be patient with yourself and your team. As you gain experience and practice, your efficiency will increase, and these processes will get faster.
Future-proof your conveyancing business
Embracing change in your conveyancing office is not just about adopting the latest new flashy tech. Change for the sake of change or because ‘everyone else is doing it’ won’t cut the mustard. It’s about looking at your business, your staff, and your clients and evolving and adapting to meet their new needs in this fast-paced, dynamic industry.
And while we’re hard-wired to resist change, recognising the benefits that the change offers, and allowing yourself and your team grace as that change is implemented will enable you to future-proof your business. They say that change is a journey, not a destination, and those who embrace change will be well-positioned to thrive in this evolving landscape that is the modern conveyancing industry.
At the AICWA Conference back in July, our marketing & communications officer, Katelyn sat down with Ash from the WA Proptech Hub to talk about all things innovation, proptech in WA and, of course, Realtime Conveyancer.
In this episode of Proptech TV, we talk about the catch-22 facing business owners who are actively seeking ways to make their business more efficient but feel like they’re too busy to implement those changes. Users who’ve made the switch to Realtime have told us that once they committed to making the change, they now have all this time back in their day. They’re free to do other things in their business, like networking or spending more time with their family.
We also dived into the (in our opinion, very likely) prospect of WA becoming the Proptech Capital of Australia and the importance of surrounding yourself with like-minded people who are invested in growing together.
Watch the full episode now and read the transcript below.
Sarah: So we’re still here at the AICWA Future Focus conference and I’ve found Katelyn from Realtime Conveyancer. How are you Katelyn?
Katelyn: I’m good thanks, Sarah. How are you?
Sarah: How you feeling the vibe today?
Katelyn: It’s fantastic, everyone is just so excited to be here. I’ve been to I think 5 or 6 conferences now and the vibe is next level this year.
Sarah: It is, I had to just literally drag you away from the table. So Realtime Conveyancer being around now this is what their second conference?
Katelyn: Third conference.
Sarah: That’s exciting. It’s a game changer for WA.
Katelyn: It really is. I was thinking back to our first conference and you know we hadn’t really gone live. We’d done some beta testing but now we’re well and truly in the market. The feedback that we’re getting is phenomenal and the number of people that have come up today to chat to us and say like I need to do this. Now’s the time.
Sarah: Exciting and now big interviews with the Prop Tech Hub.
Katelyn: Absolutely, I’ve made it!
Sarah: You feeling okay big TV star?
Katelyn: Feeling all good!
Sarah: Your makeup’s done, you’re looking amazing.
Katelyn: Well no I’ll just say you didn’t give me any prior warning about this.
Sarah: You look absolutely beautiful. All right well let’s not hold you back let’s go see Ash. Thanks for joining us and look forward to hearing what you’ve got to say. Thanks Katelyn.
Ash: Back again, here with Katelyn from Realtime Conveyancer. Thank you for being on the show.
Katelyn: No worries.
Ash: So, we’re at the conference – Future Focus. What does future focus mean to you?
Katelyn: Well, we are all about taking traditionally quite a paper-based process of conveyancing and digitalising it and more than that actually taking it into the future. Future-proofing conveyancing businesses so making sure that they’ve got the tools and they’re empowered to actually run their business in a modern way.
Ash: Very relevant obviously to a conveyancing association right?
Katelyn: Yes, absolutely.
Ash: Because you’re streamlining that whole process. So, what are some of the challenges facing conveyancers right now?
Katelyn: I think a lot of it is the unknown. It’s quite daunting to be faced with the prospect of turning what you do day to day up on its head and completely changing the way that you run your business. It is a hard thing to do in baby steps, I guess. What we’re what we’re getting the best feedback is the firms that do just jump in head first but it takes a lot to get to that point. To be confident to do that.
Ash: Yeah and you know Innovation I guess with the conveyancers are they adopting it you know easily and willingly or does it take you know a while to get them on board and understanding and seeing you know what the benefits are for them?
Katelyn: The benefits are very apparent to everyone that we speak to straight away. The market is so busy at the moment so what we’re finding is that it’s just having the time to actually sit down and make those changes that is the biggest challenge at the minute. But once they do make those changes they get all this time back in their day and it frees them up to do other things in their business to make it even more efficient.
Ash: So over the next 12 months you know what’s important to you guys and what are you going to be trying to achieve?
Katelyn: We really just want to empower as many businesses as we can to work in modern ways. So give them the tools help them to succeed and grow their businesses.
Ash: So a conveyancer out there that’s watching this or someone in that space how do they actually contact Realtime and begin the process?
Katelyn: Yeah so you can just jump on our website so realtimeconveyancer.com.au and you can book a demo in and Alannah or one of our team will be able to come out and show you exactly what the platform can do for your business.
Ash: So you know Alannah or one of the team members comes out you know what does a business do? Do they set up an account and then how do they really you know get involved and actually get it to work for them?
Katelyn: So, once you’ve decided that this is what you want to do in your business you can apply to join Realtime. It’s just a form that you fill out on our website. We go through all of the setup with you. We’ll even, down to things like your email signatures – we’ll import those into the program for you. We’ll set up all your Integrations with PEXA and your ID services and things like that. And then you’re good to go! We’ll take you through some initial training but what we find is most people like to sit down and have a bit of a play and come back with some questions so we guide them over a series of you know four to six weeks. Checking in continuously, to make sure that you know everything’s OK.
Ash: So over the past sort of few years it’s been a bit of a property boom lots and lots and lots of transactions and all indications are that it’s going to slow down a little bit. I guess that’s going to give conveyancers a bit of time to breathe and try these new things but how is that going to you know affect your business moving forward?
Katelyn: For us it will really give us an opportunity to cement some really cool new features. So at the moment there’s a lot of we’re spending a lot of time on innovating and um coming up with our road map, I guess for where we want to be in the next 5, 10, 15 years. But yeah we’ll just get a bit more of an opportunity to sit down hold conveyancers hands just that little bit more while in the background we can continue to work on those features.
Ash: Because you’re operating in Western Australia and South Australia?
Katelyn: Yes.
Ash: Is there plans to go to other states in territories in Australia?
Katelyn: I don’t know.
Ash: And when will that kind of you know happen? Is there sort of like a roadmap of Australia domination, International domination? So it’s not on the white board in the office?
Katelyn: Well see I work remotely so it could well be on the whiteboard.
Ash: Oh lovely but South Australia has been the second market you’ve entered and how’s that going?
Katelyn: It’s going really, really well. So one of our beta testers settled their first property on Realtime this week.
Ash: Incredible.
Katelyn: So that was a very exciting milestone for us and the feedback that we got from them was phenomenal.
Ash: Oh that’s lovely. Bringing you back to today’s conference what are you hoping to achieve from being here?
Katelyn: For us, it’s really just getting in front of WA conveyancers, seeing people that we often we only connect with once a year at these events. All of us are ex-conveyancers ourselves so you know we’ve worked side by side all of these people it’s really great just to catch up and see how everything’s going for them and if we can you know impart a little bit of um you know a few tips and tricks to make their lives a bit more efficient and give them some more time in their day then that’s a bonus.
Ash: Yeah sure so this year PropTech Hub WA declared that Perth will be the proptech capital of Australia within the next 365 days. Do you think that’s possible?
Katelyn: Absolutely!
Ash: And what would it mean to you guys to be you know in WA, operating from WA, you know with a hundred or hundreds of other innovators you know all in the same backyard and being able to learn from them?
Katelyn: I think um it’s really important to surround yourself with like minded people, We can only grow if we’re around people that want to build us up so to be around people like that constantly is only going to benefit all of us.
Ash: Agreed. Well thank you so much for being on the show, thank you very much for watching and we’ll see you next episode. Until then take care.
We are extremely excited to have launched a conveyancing industry first solution with the release of Ruby, our AI-driven chatbot.
Ruby provides helpful guidance to the Realtime platform, answering questions and stepping users through specific features and processes when you require help with natural language and an easy back and forth dialogue. The machine learning sitting behind her trains her with every interaction.
She’s another technology first for conveyancers.
It’s our belief at Realtime, that conveyancers deserve the very best technology including automation and AI to help them deliver amazing services to their clients, support their teams and strengthen their businesses.
Our vision and mission is to empower conveyancers and their businesses with the latest technology and while she is a first step, we’re very proud about the launch of Ruby.
When you’re next inside Realtime, speak to Ruby and ask her questions just the same way as you would to a member of the Realtime support team.
The more our clients use Ruby, the smarter she gets. If you ask her a question that she doesn’t know the answer to, she will escalate it to a member of our team and we incorporate it into her training.
As an AI, Ruby is on duty 24 hours a day and seven days a week, providing conveyancers with help any time they need it, even out of hours and on weekends.
We know many conveyancers use weekends to catch up on tasks and it can be frustrating if you need help in a new system but there’s no one rostered on. The really great thing about Ruby is that she’s both helpful and cheerful no matter what time it is!
To access Ruby’s help, users click on the chat icon in the bottom right corner of Realtime TMS. Ruby can be accessed from any page or matter within Realtime for instant assistance
Uses can also rate Ruby’s responses based on how helpful they are by clicking the ‘thumbs up’ or ‘thumbs down’ icons.
“For conveyaners to grow and thrive in a digital future, we need to embrace AI into our businesses and use it to strengthen good processes,” said Realtime Conveyancer founder and CEO, Kylie Dillon.
“I strongly believe AI will not replace conveyancers – because clients will always want personalised and attentive service at such an important time as settling on a property, especially if it is a home – but the future is definitely collaborative partnership between technology and human expertise.”
I was honoured to attend the REACH PortCo 2023 event – a gathering of founders from REACH programs around the world and part of Second Century Ventures – the biggest residential proptech VC fund in the world.
It was truly inspirational to hear from so many founders who now have successful tech businesses after working through the many challenges and hard times – and the incredible highs – that come from launching transformative technology.
The three days in San Diego were full of great conversations and very personal stories that gave me new insights into what being a tech entrepreneur is really like and – because this was being held in the US – on a scale that is vastly different to WA or even just Australia.
It was a real gift to meet people who have been through similar challenges to what we’ve gone through launching Realtime Conveyancer, and hear advice from those who have already successfully gone through the growing pains of scaling a proptech startup into something much bigger. Here are my key takeaways:
Be passionate about your vision: The most inspiring stories and successful proptechs are those whose founders are passionate about their technology, the problems their clients have and their vision to fix it. They truly love what they do.
Advocate for your industry: Proptechs fix long-standing industry problems but we need to love the industries we serve and ensure our technology is robust, does what it says it will do and genuinely reflects the needs of our customers.
Remember why you fell in love: Like any long-term relationship, you can fall out of love from time to time either with your tech or your customers, but it passes. You need to keep reminding yourself about the qualities that brought you together.
Don’t listen to your inner imposter: We all have people in our lives in business who will criticise us but often it is the voice in our own heads that is the cruellest. Moments of doubt are normal.
Surround yourself with great people: At times when you feel a bit overwhelmed, there is nothing better than genuinely connecting with great people, learning from them and solving the problems of the world – ideally with a margarita!
Being a proptech founder is a very different world from conveyancing. But it was also interesting to reflect on how well a background and skills in conveyancing have served me moving into this new and exciting field.
At Reach, I felt like I was part of a family and an exclusive crazy, relentless group who were all coming from the same space and mindset. Just in the same way that when you put a bunch of conveyancers into a room, they all have a shorthand of shared experience, being in a room full of founders gave us a verbal shorthand of knowing exactly what people were talking about with minimal explanation and no judgment.
The world of startups is a big place and it’s full of people who genuinely want to help each other Realtime Conveyancer is truly honoured to be part of such a cohort.
The human touch has always been prized in the realm of conveyancing, where the intricacies of property transactions meet financial and legal complexities. After all, buying or selling a property is often one of the most significant transactions in a person’s life. Clients want reassurance, personal attention, and a seamless experience. But what if we told you that when thoughtfully integrated, technology doesn’t diminish this personal touch but can, in fact, enhance the human experience in conveyancing? In this blog, we’ll explore how the marriage of technology and conveyancing can result in a more human-centric, efficient, and client-focused process.
A conveyancer’s greatest asset is their human connection.
Traditionally, conveyancers have been valued for their personal touch. They provide clients expertise, guidance, and security throughout the property transaction journey. Clients appreciate the ability to reach out, ask questions, and receive prompt, empathetic responses. However, repetitive, time-consuming administrative tasks can sometimes hamper this personal touch.
Technology is an efficiency enabler.
Enter technology. Often, it is seen as a potential threat to the human-centric approach in many industries, including conveyancing. The reality is quite different. Modern conveyancing platforms, like Realtime Conveyancer, have been carefully crafted to empower conveyancers, not replace them. With Realtime Conveyancer, manual, repetitive tasks can be reduced by up to 75% through automation and time-saving features.
Conveyancers can free themselves from the shackles of laborious paperwork and no longer spend disproportionate hours on administrative chores. Instead, this newfound time can be channelled where it matters most: towards clients and their unique needs.
Conveyancers can reinvest these saved hours into fostering more profound, meaningful connections with their clients. They can devote extra time to comprehensively understanding client requirements, addressing concerns, and providing expert guidance. This transformation enables them to be the trusted advisors their clients need in the complex realm of property transactions.
Networking and partner engagement
The conveyancing process doesn’t exist in isolation. It involves various stakeholders, from real estate agents to mortgage brokers. Building solid relationships with these partners is essential for a successful transaction. Technology doesn’t replace these connections but enhances them. Conveyancers can use their newfound time to network, collaborate, and forge deeper relationships with referral partners.
Empowering clients with knowledge and information
While technology plays a vital role in the background, it’s not meant to replace face-to-face interactions; instead, it supports them. Clients still crave that personal connection—the reassurance of sitting across from their conveyancer and discussing their concerns. Technology enables conveyancers to offer these interactions more efficiently.
In the modern conveyancing landscape, clients are tech-savvy and desire transparency and involvement. This is where technology, like the Pathway to Settlement (PTS) app, comes into play. PTS isn’t just about streamlining processes; it’s about involving clients in their property journey.
With PTS, clients can stay informed about the progress of their transaction right from their smartphones. They can track milestones, receive updates, and interact with their conveyancer more meaningfully. Rather than feeling disconnected from the process, clients can actively participate, fostering a stronger connection between them and their conveyancer.
Digitising conveyancing really is a win-win for all
In the evolving world of conveyancing, integrating technology is not a threat to the human experience but a means to enhance it. Technology allows conveyancers to regain valuable time, which can be dedicated to building deeper client relationships, networking with partners, and facilitating meaningful face-to-face interactions.
Furthermore, companion apps like PTS empower clients, giving them transparency and control over their property transactions. It’s a win-win for everyone involved—the conveyancer, the client, and all the stakeholders in the property transaction.
So, the next time someone raises concerns about technology devaluing the human experience in conveyancing, you can confidently explain how technology, when thoughtfully integrated, can, in fact, create a more human-centred and efficient process for all parties involved.
Last week, we had the honour of attending the prestigious third annual Proptech Awards, hosted by the Proptech Association Australia in Sydney. We are thrilled to announce that Realtime Conveyancer emerged as the proud winner of the Efficiency & Optimisation Award for Most Innovative Startup!
The Proptech Awards are an important celebration of the remarkable achievements and groundbreaking innovations within the property technology industry. Held at The Fullerton Hotel, over 350 people gathered to celebrate the winners of over 30 awards.
Kylie Davis, Founder & President of Proptech Association Australia, alongside Peter Schravemade, Managing Partner of REACH Australia, co-hosted the sold-out event, commending the breadth and depth of the Australian proptech innovation ecosystem across the entire real estate value chain.
Realtime Conveyancer proudly took home the Efficiency & Optimisation Award for Most Innovative Startup, an acknowledgment of our commitment to providing cutting-edge solutions and transforming the conveyancing experience for our valued clients. The award is a testament to the hard work and dedication of our incredible team at Realtime Conveyancer.
We extend our heartfelt gratitude to the Proptech Association Australia, the event organisers, and the esteemed panel of over 50 expert judges from Australia and overseas, who meticulously assessed 153 high-calibre entries to select the deserving winners.
We also want to congratulate our fellow finalists in the Efficiency & Optimisation category, Property Inc., Propti, Realbot.com.au, and REMSUITE. Being recognised alongside such esteemed industry players is an honour in itself, and we are proud to be part of a vibrant proptech community that pushes the boundaries of innovation.
At Realtime Conveyancer, our mission is to empower conveyancers with cutting-edge technology that simplifies workflows, streamlines processes, and enhances the overall conveyancing experience. Winning this prestigious award reaffirms our commitment to driving innovation in the industry and delivering exceptional value to our clients.
We would like to extend a special thank you to our clients and partners for their continuous support and trust in Realtime Conveyancer. Without your valuable feedback and collaboration, this achievement would not have been possible.
As we celebrate this exciting milestone, we are more inspired than ever to continue our journey of innovation and excellence in the proptech space. We look forward to further enhancing our platform, bringing more groundbreaking features, and continuing to provide exceptional value and support to our incredible clients.
Conveyancing is one of the last industries in the property ecosystem to be impacted by digital disruption. But don’t worry, it’s coming! Rather than being afraid of it, however, we can take comfort from the fact that so many industries adjacent to us – real estate and finance especially – have been through it before us and learn from their experiences. But even though our bigger brothers may be ahead of us on the adoption curve, we still need to adapt it to the issues and processes specific to conveyancing.
So here are some of the biggest tech and social trends that are fundamentally changing how conveyancing is going to be conducted in Australia.
Service Expectations
Customer expectations of good service have fundamentally changed over the past 10 years, and they continue to evolve. More than just corporate placations and cookie-cutter standards, clients today want service that is personalised, immediate, and recognises their needs – even if they don’t know what those needs actually are! You can blame big data for this. It’s understanding of our preferences based on literally millions of activities and the ability to serve information that is both useful and timely regardless of the time of day or what platform we are in and predict what we are going to need next. This has made it hard for mere human processes to keep up. In such an environment, traditional communication methods of email and telephone are both too slow, prone to misunderstanding and inferior no matter how much you like the person at the other end. They’re an important compliment to great service in the new world, but on their own, they just don’t cut it.
Big Data, Automation and AI
Everywhere we go and everything we do these days leaves a vapour trail of data behind us. It’s produced with every interaction we have with our mobile phones, on our desktops, and even just walking captures data about where we’ve been. And then there are the email lists we sign up for, the online shopping we do and the social media activity we engage with. The bigger the datasets, the bigger the picture about who we are and our personal preferences, allowing our interactions to become more and more personalised.
Big data is the fuel that drives automation and AI, and it is removing much of the manual work out of conveyancing, allowing more processes to be automated and reducing the amount of repetitive work done by humans. In conveyancing, this means client data being automatically pulled into forms rather than retyping, digital signatures being requested and recognised, information automatically moving to the next stage and documentation being ‘preflight checked’ by bots rather than humans. The end result is faster transactions with fewer errors and rework.
The Corporatisation of Real Estate
The irony of Australia’s residential real estate industry is that it is the country’s single biggest asset class and favourite way to invest, yet we’re largely a cottage industry managed and run by small businesses. There’s nothing wrong with that, but in coming years, it is likely to start to change with the growth of build to rent, resulting in more multi-family housing being owned by large corporates, especially superannuation funds.
The financial and mental cost of running a business – and the sheer weight of needing to manage so much in terms of technology, security, automation and service centres – also means mergers and acquisitions are likely to become more common as we see fewer but larger businesses emerge. This trend is especially likely to impact conveyancing with our legacy of small three or so-person operators. Expect to see bigger conveyancing businesses that are more streamlined, tech-supported and with teams with more specific job descriptions that are narrow and deep rather than broad generalist conveyancing.
Scaling and End-to-End Processes
One of the most stressful parts of the conveyancing process for buyers and sellers is understanding the stage of the transaction, how far there is still to go and what kind of information needs to be compiled in order to clear the next hurdle. Tech systems that deliver end-to-end transaction management reduce this stress considerably by allowing clients to see at a glance what stage their purchase or sale is at and what else needs to be completed.
Delivering this clarity to clients also has major benefits to conveyancers. There are fewer daily interruptions from people wanting to check in and understand “where we’re at”, less chasing of clients to provide vital information without which settlement can be delayed (creating even more stress) and a clearer understanding for conveyancers of the project management required across a team, and where bottlenecks or additional resources may be required.
In addition, giving both real estate agents and buyers and sellers visibility of the conveyancing process improves market education resulting in a better understanding of the work that conveyancers do and the value we add.
Cyber Security and Risk Management
The irony is that there is more payment security in purchasing a pizza online than there is in buying a million-dollar property. It should be no surprise, therefore, that every week there is another tale of property transactions being intercepted by scammers stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars in the form of deposits, payments and bonds.
Cyber fraud is now at an industrial scale, with thieves no longer just lone hackers sitting in a bedroom, but warehouses of scammers globally hunting deliberately for targets. Real estate, with its high value transactions and traditionally low security practices makes us extremely vulnerable. Sharing bank account details, contracts and identification documentation over email are all common ways that we expose ourselves on a daily basis and in the new world of cyber threat, it’s not a case of if we get hacked, but when, especially given it can happen as easily as clicking on a link when we’re tired or not concentrating.
Cyber secure transaction spaces are the way forward. Only those invited can access these password-protected and locked virtual rooms, but once inside, documents and identification can be shared, and payments made securely. Secure conveyancing rooms can also be connected to systems like Pexa, allowing the settlement to be securely lodged at the end, de-risking the entire process and helping both conveyancers and their clients feel a lot less stress.
We are thrilled to announce that Realtime Conveyancer has been selected as a finalist in three categories for the prestigious 2023 Proptech Awards by the Proptech Association Australia!
The Proptech Association Australia has recognised our commitment to innovation, efficiency, and leadership within the proptech industry. These nominations underscore our dedication to revolutionising the conveyancing process and delivering breakthrough solutions to our valued clients.
Realtime Conveyancer has been named a finalist in the following categories:
Consumer Proptech (Startups)for our Pathway to Settlement App: Our Pathway to Settlement app has been acknowledged for its exceptional contribution to enhancing the consumer experience. This innovative app empowers buyers and sellers, providing them with real-time updates, seamless settlement tracking, and peace of mind when exchanging documents and financial information throughout their property journey.
Efficiency & Optimisation (Startups) for our Transaction Management Software: Realtime Conveyancer’s Transaction Management Software has been recognised for its outstanding efficiency and optimisation capabilities. Our powerful software streamlines the conveyancing process, enabling practitioners to work smarter, faster, and more productively.
Proptech Leader of the Year – Kylie Dillon: We are proud to announce that our founder, Kylie Dillon, has been named a finalist for the prestigious Proptech Leader of the Year award. This recognition highlights her visionary leadership, relentless pursuit of excellence, and commitment to driving positive change within the industry.
We would like to express our sincere gratitude to the Proptech Association Australia for this honour, as well as to our incredible team and clients who have been instrumental in our success. We are inspired and motivated to continue pushing boundaries, reshaping the future of conveyancing, and delivering unparalleled value to our clients.
We would also like to extend our sincere congratulations to all the finalists and nominees in the 2023 Proptech Awards! Being part of such a dynamic and innovative community is truly inspiring, and we applaud your dedication and achievements. Together, we are shaping the future of real estate through technology and revolutionising the way we transact, engage, and experience the property market.
To learn more about the Proptech Association Australia and the 2023 Proptech Awards, please visit the official awards announcement.
Stay tuned for updates as we eagerly await the awards ceremony in July, where we will celebrate these exciting achievements. We sincerely appreciate your continued support and trust in Realtime Conveyancer.
