Real estate businesses, until recently, were solidly rooted on conventionally tried and tested methods. However, technological developments nowadays are starting to have a significant impact on the real estate industry.
Almost all real estate professionals, buyers, sellers and investors are realizing the host of benefits accompanied with this technology. Technology has opened up a new path in the real estate sector.
Let’s take a peek at a few avant-garde tech trends that can bring a revolution in real-estate business.
#1. Drones can help in listing market property from above treetops
Drones or UAVs (unmanned air vehicles), in the very near future, are expected to help real estate marketers in property listings from treetops or rooftops.
They can take extremely detailed images and high definition video footages of properties to provide prospective buyers with a comprehensive overview of the property they are interested in.
Up until now, aerial photography was only possible with costly conventional techniques like using a helicopter. The use of drones brings down the expenses on one hand and increases the level of productivity on the other.
Although legislation around the commercial utilization of drones hasn’t been finalized yet, it can be said that it’s definitely going to pass in the foreseeable future.
Drones can take exceptional aerial photographs
#2. Traditional real estate agents might be replaced with the novel beacon technology
Beacons are already used by lots of industries for interaction purposes. But now the real estate industries have taken special notice towards this piece of technology.
Many real estate businesses are using this technology to interact with potential clients. They are also using this tech to showcase their properties and automate the entire purchasing process.
Potential buyers still browse for properties on the internet or through newspapers/magazines, after which they usually have to make appointments with agents and visit the property physically.
Such a process can be quite laborious indeed and frustrating at the same time because of a host of other factors related to various things such as time, workplace pressure etc.
Thanks to the beacon technology, this process can be changed drastically to a smoother and less complicated one which should be tremendously beneficial to the seller as well as to the client.
#3. Hi-tech “for sale” signs
Transmitters and microchips placed inside “for sale” signs can detect the presence of a prospective buyer (if they are nearby).
The sign immediately becomes interactive and sends all property-related information (such as price, descriptions etc.) to the prospective buyer in the blink of an eye. Such a technology is known as augmented reality.
Through the use of augmented technology, it will be possible for potential buyers to get all sorts of information without having the need to even book an appointment with the real estate agent.
Technologies like augmented reality/virtual reality can revolutionize the future of real-estate businesses. A positive trend’s already showing up.
#4. The beacon technology can also be used impart key information to potential buyers
Beacons are pretty useful to send out almost all kinds of automated information to the potential buyers.
Imagine a scenario.
Say, you are walking through a property and the wall comes alive and tells you the materials involved in its finish. Part of a science fiction movie? It definitely was once. Not anymore.
Beacon technology is the magic behind such occurrences.
With the help of beacon technologies, unmanned open house tours become part of the reality. It might look pretty avant-garde previously but in reality, this has become possible.
It’s not magic; it’s science (beacons!)
#5. 360 degree virtual tours allow prospective buyers to explore the property from miles away
You have probably seen something involving augmented reality like above. Virtual reality’s another one built in a similar image.
Augmented and virtual reality were mainly limited to the realms of computer gaming. But currently, real estate businesses are implementing VR to give 360 degree virtual tours to prospective clients who are miles away from the location.
With VR headsets like Facebook’s Oculus Rift, HTC and Samsung’s VR Gear, people can see the different floor plans of their future home, different finishing and styling options and other related things – all in HD and 360 degrees.
360 degree virtual tours enable prospective buyers who are miles away from the spot to look around their new homes as if they are actually present on the spot in person. Geographical barriers become irrelevant in these cases.
Through these tours, they will be able to wander around the kitchen, the spacious drawing space, wine cellar, garage, etc., from the comfort of their current location and know the details.
Virtual reality seemed to have really proved the fact that distance is just a number and is definitely not a problem. In real estate businesses, virtual reality’s certainly capable of providing some of the most exciting innovations ever. Fingers crossed!
#6. Using big data to predict the next move of a prospective buyer
With the help of big data in marketing campaigns, digital marketing professionals stay ahead of the curve by analyzing the purchasing behavior of their prospective clients closely and thoroughly from a professional point of view.
By analyzing this data, they are able to predict the needs of specific customers individually and fine tune their service to a more personalized level.
Predictive analytics involves an in-depth analysis of prior transaction patterns as well as demographics of customers on the basis of which personalized service is provided.
Big data is the next best thing. This infographic can explain this in detail.
Image courtesy- Flickr
#7. Smart homes are the next best thing
Smart homes are considered the next big trend in the real estate market.
With the progress of IoT (Internet of Things), more and more real estate professionals are including such smart technologies in their properties and highlighting these key features to the prospective clients in their listings.
That’s because smart homes sell faster than the conventional ones in the modern day market.
The real estate business is definitely changing. Sticking to the old conventional methods might do more harm than good especially when this business is concerned in the nearly foreseeable future.
So are you on the bandwagon yet? If not, it’s high time to jump on it. Otherwise you run the risk of being left behind.
