The 21st Century innovation ecosystem is profoundly changing every aspect of brokering business in the real estate industry, creating new business models and a new class of digital customers. Businesses that will thrive in this context are those that will evolve by integrating technology to help safeguard developers, buyers and sellers from unforeseen risks as well as enhance efficiency of business transactions. This article will usher you to some of the latest leading-edge technologies and innovations shaping the future of the industry, giving developers as well as sellers an opportunity to stay ahead of the competition.
Blockchain Technology
Today, blockchain technology touches on every aspect of business in the real estate industry. There are two areas of real estate business where blockchain technology is expected to influence great change; 1). Tokenization and 2). Smart homes.
Tokenization
When applied in the real estate, tokenization refers to the process of protecting sensitive data by substituting it with non-sensitive equivalent such as “tokens”. Tokenization allows splitting of real estate assets into tokens that can be stored on blockchain. The most important feature of tokenizing real estate assets is the ability to converge developers, sellers and buyers on one platform where information can be assessed and shared easily.
The rationale underpinning tokenization of real estate assets is to create trust and enhance efficiency of business transactions. Particularly, prospective buyers and developers can process major transactions without going through multiple intermediaries such as banks, credit cards or governments.
Smart homes.
The role of smart homes is to eliminate intermediaries and complete transactions between the buyer and the seller. In this case, prospective buyers can search and share information about their interest through an encrypted block direct to the seller without going through an agent. It is expected that removing middlemen in real estate will reduce fraud, corruption and enhance efficiency of business transactions.
Artificial Intelligence
Other than blockchain technology, the emergence of Artificial intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) is profoundly shaping the future of the real estate industry. The power of AI and ML is the ability to harvest data that can be used to predict development patterns and determine how the market is shifting in order to make the right investment decisions. Knowing in advance what to expect will not only safeguard investors from risks, but also help them to woo more investors, serve customers better and leverage on their competiveness.
Virtual Walkthroughs
Although, the concept sounds relatively new in the real estate industry, virtual reality is making headlines practically in all sectors of business. Virtual reality in the real estate market has come to replace the traditional methods of viewing property before making purchases. Virtual reality can offer prospective buyers immersive 3D views of properties to give them a better view of what to expect and make concrete decisions.
Virtual reality is also one of the latest inventions in real estate and it is likely to influence buyer decisions and reduce the time needed to make a purchase. Traditionally, the first step of making a purchase in the real estate market involved taking a walk around the city along with real estate agents to view available properties in order to make a choice. This process is cumbersome and it tends to discourage prospective buyers.
Internet of things (IoTs) and Smart homes
The rise of Internet of things (IoTs) and smart homes is currently one of the most hyped trends in the real estate market. Smart home technology is a broad term that is used in the process of automating home appliances. Smart home appliances are used to improve comfort, security, emergency efficiency and reduce general inconveniences.
From a business perspective, smart home technology can also be used to help developers and property owners boost the sales prices. Evidence suggests that properties that have smart home devices are more likely to attract buyers. The most common type of smart home appliances include, Nest which is used to control the ambient temperature of a home environment.
Cloud
Lastly but not least, real estate agents and professionals are using cloud and its benefits in a number of ways to store and secure data. For instance, with cloud technology things like electronic signatures can be stored to facilitate faster deals and accelerate business transactions.
Conclusion
In conclusion, technology in the real estate industry is an unavoidable. Technology has not only changed the entire industry, but it has made things different from the perspective of the developers, sellers and buyers. Businesses that will thrive in this context are those that will evolve by integrating technology to help safeguard developers, buyers and sellers from unforeseen risks as well as enhance efficiency of business transactions.
