Guest blog by Jamie Moulton, Senior Content Curator, JustProperty.com
Technology has conquered almost every industry field, and it is time for the real estate industry to rise and shine. Technology has made it easy for both real estate agents and potential homebuyers to buy and sell properties without exerting so much effort like the old conventional ways. Below we give you the 7 technological innovations that are expected to conquer the real estate world in 2018 and will help move things along and set new trends in the business.
1 – Drone Land Surveying
These aerial vehicles are expected to revolutionize the entire real estate industry. Drones are considered the perfect tool to conduct a proper and accurate land survey. Drones with high-resolution sensors are capable of capturing a variety of angles and measure the entire area to match that of the real world, hence, producing more detailed 3-D maps and models.
Drones can be easily used to survey hard-to-reach areas and measure specific parts of an area that haven’t been captured by the old-fashioned methods. This technology will save time and money by helping to keep costs down, and there will be less dependence on humans without compromising on service or quality.
Using conventional methods could put surveyors in dangerous situations, but drones do not jeopardize staff safety while they fly over subject matter and capture everything without risking anyone’s life.
2 – Virtual Reality Real Estate
Virtual reality (VR) technology is another tool that will help greatly in selling properties especially off-plan ones. VR tech creates a truly realistic virtual experience through the incorporation of high-quality, computer-generated architecture and combining it with drone photography, allowing potential buyers to sit in an apartment and see the view from the 8th floor, 11th floor, rooftop or wherever, getting a feel for the true dimensions of a home.
It is a technology that gets buyers anywhere they desire, whether it is a finished property overseas or unfinished one across town. When buying an off-plan property, it is crucial for potential buyers to have an idea about what the property would feel like before investing in it, and that is what VR technology offers by getting a realistic view of what they are purchasing.
3 – 360 Video Tour
The 360 video real estate tour is a huge invention that transforms regular 2-D highly edited video tours into a more personal experience.
It is a great tool to use by agents to offer buyers panoramic experiences that better reflect a home’s living space. And since seeing is believing, 360 videos are actually a superior selling tool than regular high-quality photographs.
According to recent numbers, real estate listings with a video tour received four times the number of inquiries than those without a video. Virtual video tours helped about 40% of potential home buyers make a purchasing decision.
4 – Smart Home Technology
Smart houses are appealing to potential home buyers. In a 2016 survey by the National Association of Realtors (NAR), 42 percent of agents said their clients were interested in smart home devices. Smarter houses sell faster than other houses.
Some of the appealing smart home features include smart security, smart lighting, smart appliances, smart thermostats and smart smoke detectors.
5 – Blockchain
Blockchain technology has made the real estate transaction a much safer and faster process than it used to be. The blockchain is a public, digital ledger or database that records all transactions of virtual coins, without the need for a central authority such as a bank.
Every time a home buyer make a purchase, a new block of encrypted data is created and added to the existing blockchain or ledger, which automatically lessens the need for banks as the block is permanent and cannot be altered.
6 – Beacon Technology
Beacon technology helped make the purchase process easy and painless for both the buyer and seller. Beacons are placed in the house and instantly become active whenever a potential buyer passes by, sending the potential buyer information about the property, making the decision-making process more efficient.
By using this technology, buyers can actually know all that they need to know about the property just by walking past it.
7 – Artificial intelligence (AI)
AI technology has reached the real estate industry where it mainly works on matching buyers within minutes of agents accepting a new listing. Hence, a buyer in need – through AI – will be automatically matched with all the relevant listings.
AI has made it easy for buyers to be directed to the property that matches their search criteria. It also helps sellers access and analyze documentation with speed and efficiency while extracting essential data and information from tons of paperwork.
