The real estate industry has changed a lot over the last decade, and new technologies are having a surprising amount of impact on the way that real estate agents do their jobs. At the same time, comparison sites and other newcomers to the industry are giving consumers more choice when it comes to buying and selling property.
A few of the trends that are set to disrupt the real estate industry in 2018 and beyond.
1. Blockchain
Blockchain is the underlying technology behind cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, but it’s not just the new payment methods that are set to change the way we do real estate.
For real estate agents, if such a system were to become mainstream it could dramatically reduce the potential for fraud and enable us to access much more data on individual properties and homeowners. This would be good news for both real estate agents and their customers, but it would also require them to change the status quotient to integrate blockchain information within their current workflows.
2. Augmented and virtual realityAR and VR technologies are big news at the moment as they’re rapidly becoming more and more viable as consumer technologies. Meanwhile, augmented reality could come in useful when people are trying to visualize what an empty house will look like once they’ve moved their furniture inside. If a potential buyer has already taken the step of planning out exactly what the house is going to look like, the chances are that they’re keen enough to make an offer.
3. Peer to peer communicationThis trend has been going on for several years now and it’s unlikely to stop anytime soon. Thanks to the rise of the internet, discussion forums and social networking sites, it’s never been easier for people to bypass realtors altogether and to make peer-to-peer deals with no middleman. This is a big threat to the real estate industry, and many companies are reacting instinctively by trying to limit the amount of data they share about their listings and looking for ways to disrupt the peer-to-peer process.
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