The real estate industry can be frustratingly staid, stuck in its ways. After all, the status quo benefits industry stalwarts like brokers, agents and intermediaries. For a long time, the opacity and complexity of real estate transactions prohibited consumers from accessing the information they needed to make self-serving choices.
But modern technology is changing that. Below, you’ll find four examples of how technology streamlines real estate transactions, making the consumer experience more convenient, straightforward and inexpensive.
House Hunting and Selling with Digital Marketplaces
According to the US department of justice, “The real estate brokerage industry has been slower to change (than other industries), with the result that consumers are paying higher commissions and fees than they would under a more competitive system.”
With real estate digital marketplaces like Nobul, that “competitive system” has finally arrived. According to their Company Info blurb, Nobul is a “real estate marketplace where every agent, from every brokerage, can compete for the consumer’s business.” Consumers have the seat of power, choosing agents based on deals, commission rates, and other relevant criteria.
According to Nobul CEO Regan McGee, his company represents “a massive opportunity to improve the traditional buying and selling experience for both consumers and industry professionals,” introducing “transparency, accountability and simplicity” to the traditionally opaque and complex process.
Smart Contracts and Blockchain Technology
Blockchain technology streamlines real estate transactions in several ways. But perhaps the most significant benefit blockchain offers is the “smart contract.” Essentially, smart contracts are specific procedure sets written into code on the blockchain – once deployed, no one can change or alter them.
Smart contracts render several costly intermediary processes, like enforcement and arbitration, unnecessary – saving consumers time and money. It also offers greater peace of mind for consumers; according to IBM, “because smart contracts are digital and automated, there’s no paperwork to process and no time spent reconciling errors that often result from manually filling in documents.”
E-Signing for Fast Closing
Let’s say you’re not quite ready for a blockchain transaction and smart contract; you prefer your assets delivered in a decidedly more conventional way. Technology can still streamline the process.
In the past decade – and rapidly accelerating with remote transactions during the pandemic – e-signing has become an industry norm. It allows parties to conveniently collate, organize, and systematize the myriad transactional documents involved in buying/selling a house. Users can also quickly sign and send offers, remaining competitive during the bidding process.
Virtual, Augmented Reality for Remote Viewing
Virtual and augmented reality has helped streamline real estate transactions for sellers, buyers and agents. Sellers benefit by casting a wider net, making their homes available for viewing to remote buyers in all parts of the world; they can also save on staging with augmented reality (provided the cost of staging isn’t included in the commission fees). Agents benefit from a more engaging marketing opportunity. And buyers benefit because virtual tours allow them to see more homes, affording them a better handle on their options.
It’s impossible to tell where technology will take the industry in the future. But if the present is anything to go by, the outlook is exciting – real estate transactions are already markedly more convenient, consumer-centric and streamlined than a decade ago.