Recent history has shown that the way for organizations in every industry to stay relevant in the marketplace is through disruptive innovation. To this end, smart leaders in real estate are leveraging emerging technologies while others avoid new tools.
Unfortunately, even if they don’t look for ways to disrupt, disruption may still find them: Reluctance to adopt new technology can stand in the way of innovation, and this, in turn, can lead to unintentional and potentially hazardous forms of disruption.
Below, 15 experts from Forbes Real Estate Council discuss the most impactful technology trends disrupting the real estate industry today.
Forbes Real Estate Council members discuss technology trends disrupting real estate today.
Photos courtesy of the individual members.
1. Carbon-Footprint Reduction
More and more, as the United States and the rest of the world look to fight climate change and in light of any broad policy implemented by the new administration, technologies that help reduce commercial properties’ carbon footprints will keep developing. Real estate is a large contributor to climate change, and there should be more private and public sector incentives to foster energy efficiency. – Remy Raisner, The Raisner Group
2. Safer Buildings
The key technology trend, post-Covid, will be making buildings safer for occupants. This effort spans a variety of means, such as special HEPA filters with UV lights, touchless entry and automated sanitization measures. The technology that goes into ensuring safety will be so important for real estate across new developments and in updating existing real estate. – Ari Rastegar, Rastegar Property Company
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3. Smart Access Control
Smart access control is the No. 1 investment that property owners can make toward making their buildings more efficient. Pun intended, it unlocks so many opportunities to save as a property manager. – Blake Miller, Homebase
4. Spread Of Blockchain
Blockchain as an industry trend is nascent, but it has potential to significantly transform the industry. Data is the lifeblood of the real estate industry. However, given the large number of human connections that touch that data, and the sometimes subjective nature of assessment, data is often unreliable. With blockchain, some of this data can be captured in a single source of truth. – Khushboo Jha, BuyProperly Limited
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5. Automated Valuation Models
AVMs are becoming the acceptable usage standard for valuations. With that in mind, real estate agents need to adapt to using both traditional comps and AVMs in their valuations for modeling pricing on both the listing and buying side. Artificial intelligence in housing is here to stay. – Mike Shapiro, Mike S Shapiro
6. AI-Driven Marketing And Data Gathering
The future of real estate is marketing and gathering information via AI. The caution would be an overreliance on faulty data that might be added to the mix and skew results. Verification is always necessary, but the reach and efficiency brought by this technology is staggering. Those not harnessing AI are going to be left behind holding buggy whips. – Alexander Chandler, Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Alexander Chandler Realty
7. Growing Focus On Machine Learning
While there are many, the real game-changer has been machine learning. Finding the best area to invest in and a profitable property used to take months with manual data collection and spreadsheet calculations. This process now literally takes minutes using the technology, which allows you to feed big data into ML algorithms to provide investors with highly reliable estimates. – Taylor Valore, Mashvisor
8. 3D Matterport Video Tours
All technology makes a huge difference, but the one we’ve found to provide the greatest value and impact is a 3D Matterport video tour. This allows the buyers to determine whether the home is a fit before taking the step of an in-person tour. It allows for a safe connection between buyers and sellers, improved speed of transaction and greater protection of health for all parties. – Jennifer Anderson, Anderson Coastal Group
9. Prolific Adoption Of Live Video
One of the most prominent and disruptive trends in real estate today is the prolific adoption of video. Video in all forms is now being used for marketing, touring, leasing, sales, asset management and as a general communication tool. The true disruptor, though, is live video. Outside of an in-person tour, there is nothing more transparent than live video—you can’t photoshop a live video tour. – Matt Weirich, Realync
10. iBuyer Companies
iBuyer companies are slowly but surely gaining market share and popularity. Real estate professionals should leverage this by being open and transparent about a client’s options and discussing the pros and cons of using such services. By being honest, clients will see that you are looking out for their best interests, which will help build a closer personal relationship with them. – Ron Costa, The Eighty Two Group
11. Bridge Solutions For Sellers
The emergence of bridge solutions for sellers is a game-changer for real estate. Buying your next home before you sell your current one has been a major obstacle for potential sellers for decades. These new disruptors (bridge providers) will have a bigger impact than iBuyers because, unlike iBuyers, bridge providers operate in all 50 states. Agents can leverage bridge solutions and still get paid. – Kevin Hawkins, WAV Group, Inc.
12. Rental Management Software
Move as much of your rental management activity online as you possibly can. AppFolio was cited as the No. 1 fastest-growing company of 2020 by Fortune magazine, and for good reason. Rental management software saves time by automating a large number of tasks that once were manual. With automation comes savings, and with savings, profit. – Michael McMullen, Prominence Homes and Communities
13. Tech-Supported Contact-Free Experiences
Consumer expectations have shifted, with many seeking properties short- or midterm that do their best to limit human interaction. Technology that supports contact-free experiences, such as keyless entry systems, will become increasingly popular, especially in aparthotels that have no common areas and provide in-unit amenities for longer stays, such as dishwashers, refrigerators and more. – Vered Schwarz, Guesty
14. Text-Based Engagement
Text-based engagement is simply off the charts in terms of volume and responsiveness. While initial introductions are always more effective in person or on the phone, the ability to rapidly respond to texts (within five minutes) at scale is a competitive advantage. – Clark Twiddy, Twiddy & Company
15. Increasing Options To Assess ‘Rental Comparables’
When analyzing multifamily investment opportunities, Big Data options to assess “rental comparables” are much more widely available. While apps such as Zumper and PadMapper show every single active rental listing near any address, apps such as Rentometer show already-rented comps and rental averages, allowing a savvy investor to quickly gauge how much rent a target property can produce. – Deniz Kahramaner, Altasa