Like almost every industry, technology has had a huge impact on shaping the way we do things. From allowing quicker transactions to finding anything you need at the click of a button. It has impacted us in more ways than one. When it comes to real estate, it’s impact has been extremely significant leading to some pretty notable changes. In this article we will discuss some of the most influential ones.
Online Listings & Virtual Tours
Before technology became what it is today, touring houses was solely done by scheduling appointments via a real estate agent. These agents would ask what you were looking for, and provide you with some addresses and printouts with pictures. Then you would have to drive to every property with the agent, just to find out none of them were as expected. A long, drawn out process that never really felt effective. Then online listings came out. This was a technological leap for the real estate industry and gave people access to an incredible amount of information about prospective homes. This included pictures, tax information of the properties, purchase history, and school districts. With the natural progression of technology a recent advancement was discovered, virtual tours. Now, outside of just seeing pictures of each room individually, you can actually walk through each room of a home virtually.
Mobile Apps
Websites that host as housing hubs now also have the capability to have mobile apps making home buying and selling quicker, easier, and more accessible from any location. The main housing hub app is Zillow. You can also sign up to get notifications sent directly to your phone for properties you may have interest in, local housing market trends, or if someone is interested in your home; should it be listed. Pushing the technological bill forward are i-buyers and cash buyers too that have monumentally shifted the way real estate is purchased. As they purchase homes for cash in any condition. There are also real estate investing crowdsourcing mobile apps such as Fundrise. Fundrise allows investors to purchase fractional shares of properties for a return on your investment.
Drones
For commercial real estate and land development one of the most impactful pieces of technology has certainly been drones. This has also had a huge impact in residential real estate as well. They can capture the full exterior of houses and buildings, providing imagery and video footage of spaces easier to see from a bird’s eye view.
Technology has been one of the most progressive and innovative sectors of our generation. It has changed the landscape for the real estate industry for the better. The future of real estate is an ever-changing world due to the ongoing technological innovations.