Although emerging technologies have disrupted many industries, professionals in the real estate market have been slow to keep up. While things like on-demand app development and artificial intelligence have given rise to a new type of economy and customer experience, realtors have not yet begun to leverage new technologies.
That should no longer be the case. New developments are poised to revolutionize the industry. Those who take advantage of them sooner rather than later will benefit most. If you’re a real estate professional, consider how you can make use of emerging technologies. The following examples illustrate just a few potential innovations worth leveraging.
Virtual Reality
Shopping for property via the internet has grown more and more popular over the years. Surveys indicate nearly half of home buyers start their search online.
It’s easy to understand why. Being able to look for homes in your area (and price range) is much simpler when you don’t have to visit them first.
The problem is, this can make it difficult to highlight a property’s features. A series of pictures doesn’t always give potential buyers a truly dynamic view of a house. That’s why some real estate agents have begun to use virtual reality as a means of showing off their properties. VR tech lets potential buyers “tour” homes viewed over the internet. Immersing someone in this type of experience is clearly more effective than simply uploading a few basic pictures of the house and yard.
The Cloud
Real estate transactions tend to be complicated. All parties involved must frequently provide numerous documents before the process is complete. Additionally, other parties need time to review these documents.
The entire process becomes much more efficient with use of the cloud. Everyone from lawyers to buyers can quickly upload documents and information as soon as they’re available. Anyone who needs to review that information can then access it immediately.
Instead of signing a document, making copies, filing them away, and sending the original to any relevant parties for their review or signature, a buyer could e-sign a document and upload it to the cloud server. A process that once took days can take mere moments.
Blockchain
Most people think of blockchain in terms of its relationship to Bitcoin. However, it’s also very useful in the real estate sector.
Blockchain allows for the distribution of public ledgers across a network of multiple computers (rather than stored centrally, which is typically the case with digital files). This offers several benefits in the real estate industry. First, it adds another layer of security. Hacking a blockchain ledger is difficult because a hacker must target multiple computers instead of one centralized server.
Blockchain also adds transparency to various real estate processes. For instance, after a potential buyer makes an offer on a home, they can use blockchain to monitor the next steps instead of simply relying on their agents to work in their best interests. This actually has the effect of boosting trust.
These three examples alone prove technology can dramatically improve various real estate processes for everyone involved. If you work in the industry, you’ll stand out from the competition by making use of these innovations sooner rather than later.
By Catherine Metcalf
bluelabellabs.net