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Investment in real estate technology has risen dramatically due to evolving consumer behaviour and changing market conditions. Innovations in technology are changing the way agents work. They are helping them save time, reduce costs and improve client experience. This blog explores some of the top tech trends in 2019 and how they’re impacting the real estate space.
Proptech
Proptech was one of the top searched terms on Google towards the end of 2018. “Proptech” is short for Property Technology, a term coined for real estate technology and global funding for real estate innovators like Airbnb and OpenDoor. This increase in investment has resulted in more innovation and that in turn is increasing the rate of disruption in the industry. Major corporations that aren’t traditionally in real estate, such as Amazon and Facebook, are now investing and expanding into the industry. Amazon have invested in Plant Prefab, a Southern California-based smart home builder. While Facebook Marketplace now includes rentals and sales, plus they have launched several rent-bidding apps in Australia.
AI and Chatbots
One exciting new trend that is changing how real estate companies are operating is artificial intelligence (AI) and chatbots. AI is the technology that enables software to be able to perform functions such as judgment, evaluation, problem-solving and decision making. Machine learning is the computer science allowing computers to learn from data without direct programming to do so. The combination of the two means that receiving, assessing and qualifying rental applications, for example, can all be done without any human intervention.
Chatbots are software applications that mimic written or spoken human speech in order to interact with a real person, just like Google, Alexa and Siri. These chatbots are helping agents to address customer queries and process sales enquiries much more efficiently.
The Cloud
Another innovation that has come from proptech is cloud-based property management software, as a result, legacy server-based software is quickly becoming obsolete. This new software has eliminated the need for bulky hardware.
Cloud-based software allows remote access which means your staff will have constant access to up-to-date details of your company’s products, services and inventory. This type of software is also a lot more sustainable for your business as it allows you to implement a paperless office model. Some of the benefits of doing this include improved efficiency in document management as well as greater document security.
Augmented and Virtual Reality
Virtual tours of listings are fantastic because buyers and renters are able to tour listings whenever they want; from anywhere in the world. So, if you are unable to meet a client for an open home, you can still show them the listing.
Augmented reality, sometimes referred to as mixed reality, is a “mixture of real life and virtual reality”. It allows businesses to virtually decorate and outfit a space without committing any resources - thus reducing the costs of having to stage a property. What this means is a prospective buyer or tenant is able to view a property, make an offer or submit a tenancy application without ever stepping foot in the door.
Find out more about the tech trends changing the real estate industry right now.
