The real estate industry has proved to be one of the most enduring industries in history. The constant growth of the population, changing industries, and fluctuating markets make the pursuit of new properties a never-ending cycle and constantly pump fresh blood into the real estate sector.
With that in mind, it shouldn't come off as too big of a surprise that the digital tech wave that has been sweeping over the entire business world over the last couple of years found particularly fertile ground in this very sector.
But, how does exactly digitalization of the business landscape affects the way we trade real estate, and how you can use these ongoing trends to your advantage? Let us try to find out together.
The growing influence of AI and machine learning
If you are unfamiliar with the term, machine learning describes the process in which machines (or AI to be more precise) use the available data and previous experiences to formulate pattern recognition and tackle the next batch of information with higher speed and efficiency. The real estate sector needs to constantly juggle extensive sets of data consisting of listings, contacts, property features, and market reviews, so it makes a very fortunate match for this type of tech. This marriage drastically speeds up the entire industry and allows real estate agents to notice ongoing trends and perform predictive analyses.
IoT becoming a key real estate component
When talking about the business implications of the Internet of Things, most people like to mention its growing influence over the manufacturing and construction sectors. But, this neat technology is finding a backdoor to the real estate sector as well. First, smart IoT-powered, automated and internet-ready homes are gradually transitioning from novelty to a market standard. Second, the agents have a much easier job of searching properties and making timely moves if they are not bound to only one way of searching the web. The IoT also makes presentations and open house events much more engaging.
Branching out of the native location
The traditional real estate modus operandi was strictly bound to the locations the agents and buyers were able to cover in person. These days, though, big data systems are able to tackle complex global listings and allow real estate companies to easily branch out of their native territories. So, if you, for example, want to buy land in Montenegro, the chances are that your local agency will be able to take a crack at the case. On the other hand, the development of VR and AR should make the review of such properties possible regardless of distance. That makes real estate a truly globalized industry.
Building technology makes a big leap forward
In order for the real estate industry to operate at full capacity, the construction industry needs to provide a fresh influx of affordable and up-to-trend properties. Keeping that in mind, it comes off as really good news that the tech disruption we are discussing here has made a similar impact on the construction sector as well. These days, the various technologies ranging from 3D printing and prefabrication to wearables and exoskeletons are constantly speeding up the construction process while at the same time lowering production and labor costs. All these things keep real estate a very apt and competitive sector.
Real estate process automation
Every successful company is built around a streamlined and efficient workflow. Even though it probably relies more heavily on agents' personal touch than some other mentions, the real estate industry is just as susceptible to workflow issues as any other sector. One of the main benefits brought to the table by the latest-gen digital tech lies in the fact that they can partially or completely automate some of the more cumbersome real estate market processes. What’s even better, these processes can then be integrated into an automated workflow which cuts the amount of work on behalf of an agent to a bare minimum.
The rise of real estate in demand
Last but not least, we would like to quickly cover one interesting development that, essentially, comes off as a result of all previous mentions and that is the constant speeding up of the real estate market. That should eventually bring us to the point where home buyers will be able to access properties they are interested in without delays which should effectively make them on-demand. This is a logical next step in the business environment where companies like Amazon and Google have long since made efforts to ensure the same-day delivery of their services. The real estate sector is moving in this direction as well.
We hope these few examples gave you a general idea about the impact the rapid development of new tech has on the evolution of the real estate industry. Of course, this is only the tip of the iceberg, and pointing out all touchpoints between these two worlds would be impossible. The most important thing to realize, however, is that the real estate world is changing and it's changing fast. The companies and independent realtors who want to come to the top of the market should do their best to stay ahead of the curve and keep up with these trends. These mentions do seem like a good place to start.