The Changes We Need: How Technology Could Improve Residential Real Estate - Forbes

Being an architect with over 10 years of international experience in proptech has allowed me to witness the rapid changes that technology is bringing to real estate. Virtual reality, virtual home-staging and augmented reality have all made their way into the real estate industry by now. Technology can, and should, impact the way people find their place on Earth. But is what we have what consumers need?

From A Reactive Mindset To A Proactive One

Fun fact: I started my real estate career in New York working at Citi Habitats, and the company's president Gary Malin would always remind us just how important being proactive is. Clients get very frustrated when they reach out to a real estate agent and the agent doesn't follow up promptly. When renting or buying an apartment, time is of the essence. So, providing people with information and data that is critical in their decision-making process, and doing so effectively and proactively, is key to being a successful agent.

Currently, there are a couple of platforms available that allow users to access properties deeds or buildings' documents — but they're not always accurate or updated. It'll be interesting to see as time goes by how new or innovative companies use technology to expedite and organize the process of due diligence and generate tools that allow real estate agents to be more proactive to the benefit of their clients.

Increasing Transparency And Honesty Within The Industry

A conversation I had recently with Andro Apacible of New York City real estate firm Mdrn Residential reminded me that often, it's managers and the people closest to customers who are best able to witness friction points from a more intimate perspective. As I often do, I visited a couple of brokerages to see what an agent's day-to-day looks like. Currently, brokers spend much time verifying and cross-referencing property information among several sources, so having one source that reflects the market in real time is what I believe the public needs to capture the fast pace at which we're currently moving.

One centralized platform that captures the most up-to-date inventory, verified listings, access, landlord requirements and broker/tenant incentives could significantly streamline a somewhat disjointed marketplace — especially for small and medium-sized companies that often do not have their own tech team and rely on third parties. A platform that provides live and trustworthy data would create a new level of transparency, accessibility and more exposure for brokers, clients and owners.

Expediting The Closing Of Transactions

Any homeowner knows that there are a couple of migraines before the satisfaction of being a homeowner kicks in. In most cases, those migraines originate in the number of documents that need to be signed and reviewed, and all the necessary actions that need to take place before getting your new home — getting pre-approved for a mortgage, submitting offers, hiring a real estate attorney, signing the contract, receiving a commitment letter from your bank, submitting a co-op board application and having the board interview, and that's all before closing day.

Can you imagine if you could do most of that online? Currently, there are a couple of companies that are making moves in allowing people to sign documents online, making that part of the process more efficient. But it will be interesting to see how innovative companies can expedite other steps of the process and wrap them up in a true one-stop shop.

Most of us love virtual reality. And on occasion, it could be beneficial to quickly show potential customers the spaces they can expect — especially in new developments. However, in most scenarios, VR can still be considered a want rather than a need. While more progressive brokerages might be adopting VR as a form of competitive advantage, there are still a lot of opportunities for outside innovation to make its way into solving customers' problems by creatively using technology to offer more transparency, a speedier process and better education for the general public and real estate agents.

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