There’s no doubt about it- we’re living in the tech age! It seems like there’s a new major tech product hitting the market almost every day, and with advents in technology come improvements in the way we conduct our home lives and manage our businesses. I’m particularly interested to see how tech developments will impact the real estate space, which is well-known for adapting to changes in technology trends and has made major strides in the last few years. Here are a few predictions for future improvements, as well as reflections on innovations that have shaped today’s real estate space:
AI to Improve Real Estate Searches
When searching for your next perfect home on a real estate search site, bots are working in the background to capture data and help guide you through your search. It’s more likely than not that, as time goes on, artificial intelligence will serve as a major tool for would-be buyers, helping them to compare property options and sift through bad deals.
Virtual Visits
It used to be that, if you wanted to check out multiple properties, you were going to have to lose your entire Saturday. Nowadays, you can check out houses on your shortlist by using virtual reality systems (such as TourFactory) that allow you to go inside your potential dream homes without leaving the comfort of your house. Developments in virtual reality, in particular, will allow these virtual walk-throughs to give you an increasingly high-quality view of the proportions of a home. Convenient, right?
Inspections: Cheaper, Quicker, and Centralized
Thanks to improvements in the property inspection process, it’s no longer necessary to lose days and thousands of dollars on finding a property inspector and coordinating time for him/her to carry out the inspection. Not only are you able to receive alerts advising you on whether a property inspection has been carried out or not, but the property inspection process has become much quicker as agents continue to share inspection reports, trades and service quotations. Inspectors can also send drones to properties for inspections rather than visit in person, and we’ll likely see more use of drones in the inspection process (as well as the home-buying and home-selling processes) as time goes on.
Agent Inspection to Help Resolve Issues Before Selling
When an agent visits a home for the first time, they often create a list of property issues that are likely to affect the sales price of the home. It’s worth noting that these lists are now often used by agents to manage the process of local tradespeople who bid to complete the work that needs to be done, as well as offer information to potential buyers to correct any perceived faults on the property.
High-Tech Alert Sent to Relevant Parties upon Closing
Once the purchase of your new home is complete, an alert is sent to moving and key utility providers alerting them to your moving day, inviting them to pitch for your business to get you settled into your new home. This allows for a significantly easier moving-in process, and is only achievable through advents in technology.
Source: Inman