1. 3-D Virtual Tours
No more getting ‘catfished’ by photos of house online. 3-D virtual tours are going to change the way people view property. As opposed to looking at pictures taken at flattering or deceptive angles, 3-D virtual tours provide an opportunity for viewers to have a walk-through of a property, from the comfort of their own home. Not only does this save viewers from potential misleading photos, it could save the real estate agents time with regards to several property viewings.
(Photo by Electronic Products)
2. Cloud Hosting
Property management, customer data, listings, various sites – for any real estate firm the IT side of the operation is becoming increasingly crucial. Cloud hosting has the real potential to go to be revolutionary in real estate. The cloud offers remote access, reduced costs on hosting, vastly improved scalability, increased security and total flexibility. The switch to cloud is something that could be a key talking point in the next 5 years. The complexity of the data in real estate is an area where cloud hosting can especially thrive. Cloud-powered sites can also offer smart searches, property specific landing pages and high traffic volume support.
3. Smart Homes
How we interact with our properties is also changing. Smart-homes are characterised by having the ability to have certain functions controlled by a smartphone or computer. From lighting and heating to music and cameras, from security to smoke-detectors, our homes are adapting as technology progresses. It’s not just our homes that are changing, with commercial properties starting to use the technology to improve buildings management systems, increasing efficiencies across the board. Statistics from Berg Insight have led to predictions of 46.2m homes in the US being smart-homes by 2020. If the UK is to follow suit, it will be essential that real estate embraces this change and its practices in order to accommodate the growing demand.
4. Blockchain
Transparency is becoming vital in the real estate world, with high value transactions and sensitive information being handled regularly. Blockchain, although potentially a longer term innovation, could increase transparency and making buying and selling real estate easier. If you are not familiar – don’t worry. Blockchain is the basis of Bitcoin, the cryptocurrency. Blockchain can hold, track, transfer and verify any information. Whilst the applications are still being explored, Blockchain’s ability to track transactions without middlemen could provide full transparency as well as speed up the payment process, also removing the possibility of fraud. Certainly one for the future.
