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How Technology Is Changing The Real Estate Market

Technology is now in every part of modern life. It's not just for keeping in touch with friends and family via computers, tablets, and smartphones. It's in the manufacturing industry with advanced robots creating items. The retail industry with self-serve checkouts and now it's in the real estate industry too. How is technology changing the real estate market? 

Transaction Engagement Technology

For the most part, all real estate transactions were carried out by banks or brokers typically in person at a branch. That is beginning to change with the rise of online banking and e-commerce technology as this is becoming no longer necessary. There are now online websites geared specifically to the real estate market and toward online transactions for real estate purchases and sales.

These online transaction websites are very secure, and many offer you the option of searching for a new home there too.

Virtual House Hunting

While it's not a new technology in the sense that the MLS system has been around for a while now enabling you to search through thousands of listings of homes to find the right one, the technology has advanced. Virtual house hunting websites and now apps let you take realistic tours through the homes of your choice virtually so you can see every aspect of the home from the comfort of your living room, workplace or coffee shop.

If you find homes you are interested in, you can either contact the seller directly if they have listed the home themselves or their agent to arrange an in-person visit. If you so choose, you can also make arrangements to buy the house directly via the website or the app. This is relatively new technology, but it is growing in popularity.

Chatbots

Chatbots have become increasingly popular for companies to keep in contact with their clients and interested potential customers without having to hire extra staff to man the phones. Chatbots lets visitors to home listings or even house search websites to ask questions and get them answered right away without waiting to be called back by an agent.

Chatbots are used in the initial stages of a person coming to check out listings or for those wanting to sell their home for lead generation and to keep the interest in the visiting party to stay and hire from there.

Income Properties

For those wishing to invest in the income property market, they no longer have to stick to renting their homes via a real estate agent either. In recent years popular websites like Airbnb lets you place your home for rent – mostly short-term rentals in this case, but there are websites in which you can find renters for long-term as well. This cuts down on the time it can take to find the right renters and gives potential landlords and tenants a more direct communication between each other at the outset.