Technology in real estate is impacting the industry in a major way

Every industry can stand to benefit from technological advances. And real estate is no exception.

Whether you're looking to get better tenants, sell more houses, or just buy the right first home, technology can help make your life in real estate easier and more successful.

Continue reading and we'll show you just how technology in real estate is redefining the industry.

Artificial Intelligence

For many people, when they hear about AI, they get nervous that technology is going to start taking over their jobs. On the contrary, AI is most effective when it is working alongside humans, not against them.

Real estate companies who embrace AI are going to have many advantages against the competition.

Increases the Relevance of Recommendations

The best way to get a sale in real estate is to provide buyers with a property that's best suited for them. The human element of this interaction will never go away. You're still going to need a talented and savvy realtor who will be able to understand their clients and discover what it is they actually want.

The real estate agent will need to be able to transform that information into data that an algorithm can understand.

Once it has all the necessary data, the AI can figure out the best marketing strategy for each individual customer based on past successes. More importantly, the AI will be able to find the best property matches for an agent's customers based on their likes and dislikes.

This takes a lot of the busy work away from the realtor and allows them more time to focus on serving their customers. 

Turns Agents Into Better Salesperson

One major difference between AI and an agent is that AI doesn't sleep. This means that AI-based bots can assist customers 24/7. The bots can even chat with clients while the agent is away and the office is closed.

These AI chatbots are becoming increasingly popular among customer service divisions. Technology has finally gotten to a place where bots are even able to pass the Turing Test. That means that these chatbots are practically indistinguishable from actual human beings. 

These guys can be extremely effective for realtors who want to keep costs down while still interacting with many people at once.

In fact, Inman held a test case in 2016 called Broker vs. Bot. Here, Inman had actual realtors compete against an AI bot in order to see who could deliver the best recommendations. The person acting as the buyer ended up picking the bot's recommendations every time.

This doesn't mean that AI is going to replace real estate agents. But by working with AI, savvy realtors can end up selling more homes and having more satisfied customers.

Better Relationship Building

By using AI-based CRM (customer relationship management), real estate agents can stay connected with their customers even after the homes have closed. Their CRMs can send newsletters, birthday e-cards, and check-ins so that they stay relevant in the minds of their past and present clients.

This will help agents establish and maintain longterm relationships with their customers. It can also lead to more referrals and thus, more sales. 

AI has gotten so smart that it can even predict when a person is likely to fail a credit check or default on a loan. All of this support can help agents function more efficiently and help increase sales as well as increase the number of happy clients.

Blockchain Technology

Perhaps you've heard of blockchain technology thanks to its use in cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin. But blockchain can be used for so much more. By harnessing the power of blockchain, a landlord could use it to sell pieces of ownership for their properties. 

Also, real estate contracts between purchasers and sellers could be done with legitimacy checks and total encryption to allow for more privacy. And with blockchain ledgers, property titles can now be more conveniently and safely stored.

Virtual Walkthroughs

If you're a real estate agent and don't currently do virtual walkthroughs, you should change that right now. Most potential buyers wouldn't consider purchasing a property without first seeing the ins and outs of it. But this can be difficult if the buyer lives far away or is too busy to come at a convenient time. 

Thanks to virtual reality, a buyer can now "walk through" the entire property from the comfort of their own home.

Better Platforms for Buying and Selling

Although most technological advances in real estate give more power to the agents, other advances give more power to the buyers and sellers. The entire process of buying and selling has become simplified and streamlined thanks to the internet.

There are a growing number of websites where homeowners can post their homes for sales and be matched with potential buyers, similar to what we're currently seeing with car buying.

Building Intelligence

BIM, or Building Intelligence Management, has completely transformed building construction and management. A smart 3d modeling-based system, BIM is used by engineers, architects, and construction teams in order to figure out exactly what tools they will need. This is to help them better design, plan, manage, and construct the properties.

Building managers can use this technology in order to make the most use out of the building's space and keep track of operations during the various phases of construction.

Mobile Apps

81% of Americans currently own smartphones. And that number is rising. Real estate companies, like most industries, have taken note and are creating mobile apps of their own.

Want a real VR experience? Instead of doing a virtual walkthrough on your computer screen, use your smartphone and virtual reality headset to transport yourself to a home that is up for sale.

Real estate apps now come with Home Alert features too. By entering parameters into a home buying app about the type of home you're looking for, you can be alerted the moment a matching home is listed for sale. 

Smart Sensors

Smart sensors are fairly new but are likely to become much more common in the coming years. When it comes to real estate, sensors bring many advantages. For example, they can help greatly with energy usage. 

Nowadays, commercial buildings waste a significant amount of energy that they use. With smart sensors, the amount of energy used can be monitored. Then, changes can be made such as adjusting air-conditioning or lighting in order to reduce these energy costs.

Another cool thing about these devices is that they can proactively discover problems such as mechanical issues. When a problem is detected, the sensor can transmit warning signs to let the building manager know.

Predictive Analysis and Big Data

Real estate agencies are able to serve their clients even more now thanks to their incorporation of analytics and data. Our constant use of technology means that there are large swaths of our data that is generated and then collected.

By reviewing this data, predictive analysis is able to anticipate a person's behavior based on past data. This is one way realtors are able to find better homes for their clients.

With predictive marketing, realtors can more easily find people that are likely to buy or sell a home in the near future.

Aerial Video

The proliferation of high-definition video recording drones has been incredibly important to the recent real estate market. By getting aerial video, realtors can present the homes they're selling in beautiful quality while also giving buyers a total view of the property and the community.

This is effective whether you're trying to sell a mansion or a one-story suburban home. Having an aerial video can add great value to the presentation of a home and can give a seller the edge they need over similar homes.

What Developments in Technology in Real Estate Mean for You

Everybody needs to live somewhere. And in that sense, we're all involved in real estate. 

Whether you're a realtor, a seller, a buyer, or a tenant, you stand to benefit by learning about the new technology in real estate. Understanding what these technologies are, how they work, and what exactly they can do are going to help you save time and make more money.

Many of these technologies are user-friendly and intuitive. So it doesn't take much to figure out what's going on.

Still, with all that said, selling or buying a home is still an intensive and time-consuming process.

Are you currently looking to sell your home or buy a new one? Contact us today to learn how we can use our cutting edge tech to help you!