Real Estate
The world has undeniably experienced a lot of growth and modernization; from areas like online shopping, banking, communication, and even health care. The real estate industry however, isn’t progressing as much as other industries, with old fashioned methods still being mostly in use; despite there being a lot of revolutionary means of making things easier and better. How can we modernize the world of real estate?
Automation of Financial Transactions
Automation has become widespread, especially with regards to transactions that can be conducted online. One way of neatly incorporating this into real estate would be to automate financial aspects of real estate transactions. For example, getting a mortgage can be automated by creating platforms where the process is carried out from behind one’s computer without having to go to the bank or visiting a mortgage broker. Also, the questions such as “how much I can afford to buy a home” should be answered all online without going to mortgage broker or any bank.
Use of Smart Online Hiring Platforms
Historically, real estate is one industry that has prospered via word-of-mouth referrals. However, the use of smart online hiring platforms is proving to be even more effective than old fashioned referrals. The major challenge here is that real estate transactions are often highly financially intensive, making the risk higher and because of this, customers are more interested in looking through their options with a fine tooth comb (this is reason one-on-one recommendations is the go-to method for choosing a realtor).
With platforms like Wowa however, you get to choose the suitable realtors from the comfort of your living room; same for excellent freelancers whom you can readily get access to through Upwork. It has been suggested that for these platforms to have maximum efficacy, they should have features of both online shopping and dating platforms. This is the exciting future of hiring platforms!
Invest in Photography Technology
A potential buyer should be able to have a feel of the property he/she is about to invest in, and what better way to achieve this than through innovative photography? Using the clear and breath-taking pictures in addition to the sophisticated technology, one feels walking directly into the building right from behind the computer (similar to Google street view). In a couple of decades when virtual reality has also been fully established, it would be a lot easier to visit all aspects of a property virtually.
Check the Fair Value of the Property Online
In the future, platforms should be able to evaluate properties online accurately. What this would imply for both buyers and sellers is that they would be able to get an accurate valuation for homes via the aid of advanced AI platforms after giving the address, answering a couple of questions (typically less than 30 questions), and uploading less than 50 photos from the property.
There are currently some platforms, e.g. zestimate by Zolo in US, which help the real estate customers with the approximate property valuation.
The Use of Less Friction and Less Commission
As with stock trading in which broker commissions have dropped significantly within the last 10 years, commissions for real estate agents have to drop to reflect the fact that buyers, sellers and online platforms now do some of the realtor jobs. 30 years from now, there might not even be real estate agent jobs as people would be making purchases from behind their laptops.
Wrapping Up
With other industries picking up the pace with regards to technological developments, it’s the time that the real estate industry also becomes modernized, so as to make transactions easier for buyers and sellers alike. With the automation of transactions, use of online platforms to check out properties, less financial friction and advanced photography, real estate can become modernized gradually.
