for the Real estate Brokerage Firms?
OPINION: COULD TECH BE THE END
We live in the age of AI. Everything seems automated heck even our homes are ‘automated!’
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Speaking of homes, has real estate really caught up with the current developments in technology? It may seem like an obvious question but we all know the real estate industry tends to be shy to change! The short answer, real estate is catching up with technology, and while the progress has been slow, I am happy that we are beginning to see the impact it has in the industry.
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echnology is disruptive and probably this is the main reason why its adoption in the real estate industry has taken forever. One of the fears most realtors, listing agents, real estate agents, brokers, mortgage servicers, and many other stakeholders have is whether technology and in particular AI will replace the human element in real estate. We’ve seen technology replacing most other industries and a good case to mention is the finance industry. The ‘encroachment of technology and AI in real estate is causing apprehension among many stakeholders who feel that their jobs are being threatened. The good thing is that technology and ita adoption in real estate is a conversation that is not a surprise to many people, we’ve had this debate for so long and since we began accepting the new reality, a wide variety of technologies have come up and have revolutionized the real estate landscape. But it is also important to recognize the role of the human element in the changes that are taking place in the industry- but more so, what technology has done to revolutionize how real
estate agents do and approach their jobs.- take an example of augmented reality which has usurped the way they handle their assignments. Technology might be the best thing so far that has happened to the real estate industry and therefore today we are going to take a deep dive and look at the role of technology, more specifically AI in real estate and whether real estate agents and other stakeholders should be concerned or emboldened by its adoption and prominence. THE CURRENT STATE OF AI IN THE REAL ESTATE INDUSTRY The real estate industry is so huge! In fact, it has a global market size of $280.6 trillion. When it comes to technology investment, it is estimated that the industry has made $9.6 billion worth of investments. Much of this investment has been done in the area of proptech. However, it should be noted that this phenomenon is changing rapidly with the potential of AI being gradually recognized. Though full adoption is yet to materialize, there have been numerous advancements in the usage and affordability of technology that have been the
THE POWER IS NOW MAGAZINE | AUGUST 2021
